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THE   INTERNATIONAL   SCIENTIFIC   SERIES. 


FUN  O  I  I 


NATURE    AND    USES. 


BY 
M.   C.   COOKE,  M.  A.,  LL.  D. 

EDITED  BY 

THE  REY.  M.  J.   BERKELEY,   M.A.,  F.L.S. 


NEW  YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

549    AND    551    BROADWAY. 

1875. 


AGRICULTURE 
GIFT 


Cr 


lbsa^s 


PREFACE   BY   THE   EDITOR. 


As  my  name  appears  on  the  title-page  of  this  volume,  it  is 
necessary  that  I  should  exactly  state  what  part  I  had  in  its 
preparation.  I  had  no  doubt  originally  engaged  to  undertake 
the  work  myself;  but  finding,  from  multiplicity  of  engagements 
and  my  uncertain  health,  that  I  could  not  accomplish  it  satis- 
factorily, I  thought  the  best  course  I  could  take  was  to  recom- 
mend Mr.  Cooke  to  the  publishers ;  a  gentleman  well  known, 
not  only  in  this  country,  but  in  the  United  States.  The  whole 
of  the  work  has  therefore  been  prepared  by  himself,  the  manu- 
script and  proof  sheets  being  submitted  to  me  from  time  to 
time,  in  which  I  merely  suggested  such  additions  as  seemed 
needful,  subjoining  occasionally  a  few  notes.  As  the  work  is 
intended  for  students,  the  author  has  had  no  hesitation  in 


VI  PREFACE. 

repeating  what  has  been  stated  in  former  chapters  where  it 
has  been  thought  to  prove  useful.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
the  same  high  character  will  justly  apply  to  this  as  to  Mr. 
Cooke's  former  publications,  and  especially  to  his  "  Handbook 
of  British  Fungi." 

M.  J.  BERKELEY. 

SlBBEKTOFT, 

November  23,  1874. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOK 

NATURE  OP  FUNGI          ....••••        .        .       1 


II. 

STRUCTURE  •«••••!' 

III. 
CLASSIFICATION 6* 

IV. 

USES     .        .        .        .        -        *        • 82 

V. 
NOTABLE  PHENOMENA     .         . *°5 


VI. 

THE  SPORE  AND  ITS  DISSEMINATION         .         .         .  •        •         .119 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

VII. 

PAGE 

GERMINATION  AND  GROWTH    . .137 

VIII. 
SEXUAL  REPRODUCTION  ........  .  163 

IX. 
POLYMORPHISM .        .  1S2 

X. 

INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS .209 


HABITATS 


233 


XII. 
CULTIVATION 253 

XIII. 
GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  .........  266 

XIV. 
COLLECTION  AND  PRESERVATION        ........  287 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTEATIONS. 


FIO  PAGE 

1.  Agaric  in  process  of  growth •         •         .18 

2.  Section  of  common  mushroom   .         . 19 

3.  Sterile  cells,  basidia,  and  cysticlia,  from  Ghmphidua  .         .         .         .21 

4.  Polyporus  giyanteus  (reduced)  . 23 

5.  ffydnum  repandum  (section)      .         .         .         .  .         .         .24 

6.  Calocera  viscosa 25 

7.  Tremella  mesenterica 25 

8.  Basidia  and  spores  of  Phallus 28 

9.  Basidia  and  spores  of  Lycoperdvn, 30 

10.  Threads  of  Trickia, 32 

11.  Arcyria  incarnata,  with  threads  and  spore 33 

12.  DlacJicea,  eleyans      ..........     34 

13.  CyatTiw  vernicosus  ..........     34 

14.  Cyalhus,  sporangia  and  spores 35 

15.  Astcrosporiitm  Hoffmanni         ........     36 

16.  Barren  cysts  and  pseudospores  of  Lecythea 37 

17.  Coleosporium  Tussilaginis 37 

18.  Mclampsora  scdicina,  pseudospores  of         ......     37 

19.  Cystopus  candidus,  conidia  of 38 

20.  Xenodochus  carbonarius,  pseudospore 39 

21.  Phragmidium  bulbosum,  pseudospores        ,        .        .         .         .         .39 

22.  Pseudospores  of  Puccinia          .         . 40 


X  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FI»'  PAGE 

23.  Thccapliora  hyalina,  pseudospores 41 

24.  jEcidium  Berberidis,  peridia  of 41 

25.  Helmintliosporium  molle,  threads  and  spores     .....  43 

26.  Acrothecium  simplex       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .44 

27.  Peronospora  Arenaria 44 

28.  Polyactis  cinerea 45 

29.  Peziza  Fuckeliana,  with  ascus  and  sporidia 48 

30.  Penicillium  chartarum 50 

31.  Mucor  mucedo,  with  sporangia         . 51 

32.  Small  portion  of  Botrytis  Jonesii 53 

33.  Section  of  cup  of  Asct>bolus 57 

34.  Asci,  sporidia,  and  paraphyses  of  A  scololus 59 

35.  Perithecium  of  Sphceria           . 61 

36.  Uncinula  adunca,  conceptacle  with  appendages         ....  62 

37.  Agaricus  nudus 66 

38.  Sderoderma  vulgar e 69 

39.  Ceuthospora  phacidioides        . 70 

40.  Rhopalomyces  candidus 74 

41.  Mucor  caninus 75 

42.  Sphceria  aquila,  cluster  of  perithecia 78 

43.  Morchclla  gigaspora,  from  Kashmir 99 

44.  Cyttaria  Gunnii • 101 

45.  Spores  of  Agarics 121 

46.  Spores  of  Lactarius 121 

46*.  Spores  of  Gomphidius 122 

47.  Spores  of  Polyporus,  Boletus,  and  Jliidnum 122 

48.  Diachcea  elegans,  capillitium  of 123 

49.  Spore  of  Hendersonia  polycystts 124 

50.  Spores  of  Dilophospora  graminis 124 

61.  Spores  of  Dlscosia 124 

52.  Spore  of  Prosthemium  betulinum 124 

53.  Spore  of  Stcgonosporium  cellulosum         .        .         .         .         .         .  125 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  Xi 

FIG.  PAGE 

54.  Stylospores  of  Coryncum  disciforme 125 

55.  Spores  of  Asterosporium  Hoffmanni 125 

56.  Spores  of  Pestalozzia 126 

57.  Bispora  monilioides,  concatenate  spores 126 

58.  Pseudospores  of  Thecaphora  hyalina 127 

59.  Pseudospores  of  Puccinia        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .127 

60.  Pseudospores  of  Triphragmium 127 

61.  Pseudospores  of  Phraymidium  bulbosum .         .         .         .         .         .127 

62.  Winter  spores  of  Melampsora  salicina 127 

63.  Spores  of  Helicocoryne 129 

64.  Sporidium  of  Genea  verrucosa 130 

65.  Alveolate  sporidium  of  Tuber 130 

66.  Asci,  sporidia,  and  paraphyses  of  Ascobolus 131 

67.  Sporidium  of  Ostreichnion  Americamim 132 

68.  Ascus  and  sporidia  of  Hypocrea 133 

69.  Sporidium  of  Sphceria  ulnaspora 133 

70.  Sporidia  of  Valsa  prof  lisa 133 

71.  Sporidia  of  Massaria  fcedans 134 

72.  Sporidium  of  Melanconis  bicornis 134 

73.  Caudate  sporidia  of  Sphceria  fimiseda 134 

74.  Sporidia  of  Valsa  thelebola 134 

75.  Sporidia  of  Valsa  taleola 135 

76.  Sporidia  of  Sporormia  intermedia 135 

77.  Asci  and  sporidia  of  Sphceria  (Pleospora)  Jtcrlartim  ....  135 

78.  Sporidium  of  Sphceria  putaminum 135 

79.  Basidia  and  spores  of  Exldia  spiculosa 139 

80.  Germinating  spore  and  corpuscles  of  Dacrymyces      .        .         .         .140 

81.  Germination  of  JEcidium  Euphorbice 142 

82.  Germinating  pseudospores  of  Coleosporium  Sonchi     ....  144 

83.  Germinating  pseudospores  of  Melampsora  betulina      ....  144 

84.  Germinating  pseudospore  of  Uromyces  append iculatus        .         .         .145 

85.  Germinating  pseudospore  of  Puccinia  Molinite          ....  146 


Xll  LIST   OF   ILLUSTBATIONS. 

FIG.  PAGE 

86.  Germinating  pseudospore  of  Triphragmium  Ulmarice       .         .         .146 

87.  Germinating  pseudospore  of  Phragmidium  bulbosum.       •         •         .147 

88.  Germinating  pseudospores  of  Podisoma  Juniperi      ....     148 

89.  Germinating  pseudospore  of  Tilletia  caries      .         .         .         .         .150 
tf  0.  Pseudospore  of  Ustilago  receptaculorum  in  germination,  and  secondary 

spores  in  conjugation 151 

91.  Conidia  and  zoospores  of  Cystopus  candidus 151 

92.  Resting  spore  of  Cystopus  candidus  with  zoospores  ....  152 

93.  Zygospores  of  Mucor  phy  corny  ces 158 

94.  Sporidium  of  Ascobolus  germinating 161 

95.  Zygospore  of  Mucor 165 

96.  Zygospore  of  Rhizopus  in  different  stages         .         .        .         .        .167 

97.  Conjugation  in  AcTilya  racemosa 169 

98.  Conjugation  in  Peronospora 171 

99.  Antheridia  and  oogonium  in  Peronospora 172 

100.  Conjugation  in  Pezlza  omphalodes .         .         •         •         .         .         .175 
100*.  Formation  of  conceptacle  in  ErysipJie    ......     176 

101.  Tilletia  caries  with  conjugating  cells 178 

102.  Aspergillus  glaucus  and  Eurotium 189 

103.  JSrysiphe  cichoracearum,  receptacle  and  mycelium  ....     191 

104.  Twig  with  Tubercularia  and  Nectria 193 

105.  Section  of  Tubercularia  with  conidia       ......     194 

106.  Nectria  with  Tubercularia,  ascus  and  paraphyses    ....     195 

107.  Cells  and  pseudospores  of  JRcidium  Berberidis        ....     201 

108.  Cells  and  pseudospores  of  uEcidium  graveolens        .         .        .         .201 

109.  Torrubia  militaris  on  pupa  of  a  moth  *        .        •        .         .     243 


FUNGI 

THEIR  NATURE,   USES,    INFLUENCES,   ETC 


I. 

NATURE    OF   FUNGI. 

THE  most  casual  observer  of  Nature  recognizes  in  almost  every 
instance  that  comes  under  his  notice  in  every- day  life,  without 
the  aid  of  logical  definition,  the  broad  distinctions  between  an 
animal,  a  plant,  and  a  stone.  To  him,  the  old  definition  that  an 
animal  is  possessed  of  life  and  locomotion,  a  plant  of  life  with- 
out locomotion,  and  a  mineral  deficient  in  both,  seems  to  be 
sufficient,  until  some  day  he  travels  beyond  the  circuit  of 
diurnal  routine,  and  encounters  a  sponge  or  a  zoophyte,  which 
possesses  only  one  of  his  supposed  attributes  of  animal  life,  but 
which  he  is  assured  is  nevertheless  a  member  of  the  animal 
kingdom.  Such  an  encounter  usually  perplexes  the  neophyte 
at  first,  but  rather  than  confess  his  generalizations  to  have 
been  too  gross,  he  will  tenaciously  contend  that  the  sponge 
must  be  a  plant,  until  the  evidence  produced  is  so  strong  that 
he  is  compelled  to  desert  his  position,  and  seek  refuge  in  the 
declaration  that  one  kingdom  runs  into  the  other  so  imper- 
ceptibly that  no  line  of  demarcation  can  be  drawn  between 
them.  Between  these  two  extremes  of  broad  distinction,  and 
no  distinction,  lies  the  ground  occupied  by  the  scientific  student, 
who,  whilst  admitting  that  logical  definition  fails  in  assigning 
briefly  and  tersely  the  bounds  of  the  three  kingdoms,  contends 


2  FUNGI. 

that  such  limits  exist  so  positively,  that  the  universal  scientific 
mind  accepts  the  recognized  limit  without  controversy  or  con- 
tradiction. 

In  like  manner,  if  one  kingdom  be  made  the  subject  of  in- 
quiry, the  same  difficulties  will  arise.  A  flowering  plant,  as 
represented  by  a  rose  or  a  lily,  will  be  recognized  as  distinct 
from  a  fern,  a  seaweed,  or  a  fungus.  Yet  there  are  some  flower- 
ing plants  which,  at  first  sight,  and  without  examination,  simu- 
late cryptogams,  as,  for  example,  many  IlalanopliorGe,  which 
the  unscientific  would  at  once  class  with  fungi.  It  is  never- 
theless true  that  even  the  incipient  botanist  will  accurately 
separate  the  phanerogams  from  the  cryptogams,  and  by  means 
of  a  little  more,  but  still  elementary  knowledge,  distribute  the 
latter  amongst  ferns,  mosses,  fungi,  lichens,  and  algOB,  with 
comparatively  few  exceptions.  It  is  true  that  between  fungi 
and  lichens  there  exists  so  close  an  affinity  that  difficulties  arise, 
and  doubts,  and  disputations,  regarding  certain  small  groups  or 
a  few  species;  but  these  are  the  exception,  and  not  the  rule. 
Botanists  generally  are  agreed  in  recognizing  the  five  principal 
groups  of  Cryptogamia,  as  natural  and  distinct.  In  proportion 
as  we  advance  from  comparison  of  members  of  the  three  king- 
doms, through  that  of  the  primary  groups  in  one  kingdom,  to 
a  comparison  of  tribes,  alliances,  and  orders,  we  shall  require 
closer  observation,  and  more  and  more  education  of  the  eye  to 
see,  and  the  mind  to  appreciate,  relationships  and  distinctions. 

We  have  already  assumed  that  fungi  are  duly  and  universally 
admitted,  as  plants,  into  the  vegetable  kingdom.  But  of  this 
fact  some  have  even  ventured  to  doubt.  This  doubt,  however, 
has  been  confined  to  one  order  of  fungi,  except,  perhaps, 
amongst  the  most  illiterate,  although  now  the  animal  nature  of 
the  Myxogastres  has  scarcely  a  serious  advocate  left.  In  this 
order  the  early  condition  of  the  plant  is  pulpy  and  gelatinous, 
and  consists  of  a  substance  more  allied  to  sarcode  than  cellulose. 
De  Bary  insinuated  affinities  with  Amoeba,*  whilst  Tulasne 

*  De  Bary,  "Des  Myxomycetes,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4  ser.  xi.  p.  153  ; 
"Bot.  Zeit."  xvi.  p.  357.  De  Bary's  views  are  controverted  by  M.  Wigand  in 
"Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4  ser.  (Bot.)  xvi.  p.  255,  &c. 


NATURE    OF   FUNGI.  J 

affirmed  that  the  outer  coat  in  some  of  these  productions  con- 
tained so  much  carbonate  of  lime  that  strong  effervescence  took 
place  on  the  application  of  sulphuric  acid.  Dr.  Henry  Carter 
is  well  known  as  an  old  and  experienced  worker  amongst 
amoeboid  forms  of  animal  life,  and,  when  in  Bombay,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  examination  of  the  Myxogastres  in  their  early 
stage,  and  the  result  of  his  examinations  has  been  a  firm 
conviction  that  there  is  no  relationship  whatever  between  the 
Myxogastres  and  the  lower  forms  of  animal  life.  De  Bary  has 
himself  very  much  modified,  if  not  wholly  abandoned,  the  views 
once  propounded  by  him  on  this  subject.  When  mature,  and 
the  dusty  spores,  mixed  with  threads,  sometimes  spiral,  are 
produced,  the  Alyxogastres  are  so  evidently  close  allies  of  the 
Lycoperdons,  or  Puffballs,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  affinities. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  the  presence  of  zoospores 
is  no  proof  of  animal  nature,  for  not  only  do  they  occur  in  the 
white  rust  (Cystopus},  and  in  such  moulds  as  Peronospora*  but 
are  common  in  algae,  the  vegetable  nature  of  which  has  never 
been  disputed. 

There  is  another  equally  important,  but  more  complicated 
subject  to  which  we  must  allude  in  this  connection.  This  is 
the  probability  of  minute  fungi  being  developed  without  the 
intervention  of.  germs,  from  certain  solutions.  The  observations 
of  M.  Trecul,  in  a  paper  laid  before  the  French  Academy,  have 
thus  been  summarized : — 1.  Yeast  cells  may  be  formed  in  the 
must  of  beer  without  spores  being  previously  sown.  2.  Cells  of 
the  same  form  as  those  of  yeast,  but  with  different  contents, 
arise  spontaneously  in  simple  solution  of  sugar,  or  to  which  a 
little  tartrate  of  ammonia  has  been  added,  and  these  cells  are 
capable  of  producing  fermentation  in  certain  -liquids  under 
favourable  conditions.  3.  The  cells  thus  formed  produce  Peni- 
cillium like  the  cells  of  yeast.  4.  On  the  other  hand,  the  spores 
of  Penicillium  are  capable  of  being  transformed  into  yeast,  f 
The  interpretation  of  this  is,  that  the  mould  Penicillium  may  be 

*  De  Bary,    "Recherches    sur  le    Developpement  de  quelques  Champignons 
Parasites,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4  ser.  (Bot.)  xx.  p.  5. 
f  ' '  Popular  Science  Review,"  vol.  viii.  p.  96. 


4  FUNGI. 

produced  from  a  sugar  solution  by  "  spontaneous  generation," 
and  without  spore  or  germ  of  any  kind.  The  theory  is,  that  a 
molecular  mass  which  is  developed  in  certain  solutions  or  infu- 
sions, may,  under  the  influence  of  different  circumstances,  pro- 
duce either  animalcules  or  fungi.  "  In  all  these  cases,  no  kind 
of  animalcule  or  fungus  is  ever  seen  to  originate  from  pre- 
existing cells  or  larger  bodies,  but  always  from  molecules."* 
The  molecules  are  said  to  form  small  masses,  which  soon  melt 
together  to  constitute  a  globular  body,  from  which  a  process 
juts  out  on  one  side.  These  are  the  so-called  Tor ulce,-\  which 
give  off"  buds  which  are  soon  transformed  into  jointed  tubes 
of  various  diameters,  terminating  in  rows  of  sporules,  Penicil- 
lium,  or  capsules  containing  numerous  globular  seeds,  Aspergil- 
lus  (sic). 

This  is  but  another  mode  of  stating  the  same  thing  as  above 
referred  to  by  M.  Trecul,  that  certain  cells,  resembling  yeast  cells 
(Torula),  are  developed  spontaneously,  and  that  these  ultimately 
pass  through  the  form  of  mould  called  Penicillium  to  the  more 
complex  Mucor  (which  the  writer  evidently  has  confounded  with 
Aspergillus,  unless  he  alludes  to  the  ascigerous  form  of  Asper- 
gillus,  long  known  as  Eurotium).  From  what  is  now  known 
of  the  polymorphism  of 'fungi,  there  would  be  little  difficulty 
in  believing  that  cells  resembling  yeast  cells  would  develop 
into  Penicillium,  as  they  do  in  fact  in  what  is  called  the  "vine- 
gar plant,"  and  that  the  capsuliferous,  or  higher  condition  of 
this  mould  may  be  a  Mucor,  in  which  the  sporules  are  produced 
in  capsules.  The  difficulty  arises  earlier,  in  the  supposed  spon- 
taneous origination  of  yeast  cells  from  molecules,  which  result 
from  the  peculiar  conditions  of  light,  temperature,  &c.,  in  which 
certain  solutions  are  placed.  It  would  be  impossible  to  review 
all  the  arguments,  or  tabulate  all  the  experiments,  which  have 
been  employed  for  and  against  this  theory.  It  could  not  be 
passed  over  in  silence,  since  it  has  been  one  of  the  stirring  ques- 
tions of  the  day.  The  great  problem  how  to  exclude  all  germs 

*  Dr.  J.  H.  Bennett  "  On  the  Molecular  Origin  of  Infusoria,"  p.  56. 
f  They  have,  however,  no  close  relation  with  real  Torulce,  such  as  T.  moni- 
lioides,  &c.— COOKE'S  Handbook,  p.  477. 


NATUBE   OF  FUNGI.  5 

from  the  solutions  experimented  upon,  and  to  keep  them  ex- 
cluded, lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  theory.  It  must  ever,  as 
we  think,  be  matter  of  doubt  that  all  germs  were  not  excluded 
or  destroyed,  rather  than  one  of  belief  that  forms  known  to  be 
deyeloped  day  by  day  from  germs  should  under  other  conditions 
originate  spontaneously. 

Fungi  are  veritably  and  unmistakably  plants,  of  a  low  or- 
ganization, it  is  true,  but  still  plants,  developed  from  germs, 
somewhat  analogous,  but  not  wholly  homologous,  to  the  seeds  of 
higher  orders.  The  process  of  fertilization  is  still  obscure,  but 
facts  are  slowly  and  gradually  accumulating,  so  that  we  may 
hope  at  some  not  very  distant  period  to  comprehend  what  as 
yet  are  little  removed  from  hypotheses.  Admitting  that  fungi 
are  independent  plants,  much  more  complex  in  their  relations 
and  development  than  was  formerly  supposed,  it  will  be  ex- 
pected that  certain  forms  should  be  comparatively  permanent, 
that  is,  that  they  should  constitute  good  species.  Here,  also, 
efforts  have  been  made  to  develop  a  theory  that  there  are  no 
legitimate  species  amongst  fungi,  accepting  the  terms  as  hither- 
to applied  to  flowering  plants.  In  this,  as  in  allied  instances, 
too  hasty  generalizations  have  been  based  on  a  few  isolated 
facts,  without  due  comprehension  of  the  true  interpretation  of 
such  facts  and  phenomena.  Polymorphism  will  hereafter  receive 
special  illustration,  but  meantime  it  may  be  well  to  state  that,  be- 
cause some  forms  of  fungi  which  have  been  described,  and  which 
have  borne  distinct  names  as  autonomous  species,  are  now  proved 
to  be  only  stages  or  conditions  of  other  species,  there  is  no  reason 
for  concluding  that  no  forms  are  autonomous,  or  that  fungi  which 
appear  and  are  developed  in  successive  stages  are  not,  in  their 
entirety,  good  species.  Instead,  therefore,  of  insinuating  that 
there  are  no  good  species,  modern  investigation  tends  rather  to 
the  establishment  of  good  species,  and  the  elimination  of  those 
that  are  spurious.  It  is  chiefly  amongst  the  microscopic  species 
that  polymorphism  has  been  determined.  In  the  larger  and 
fleshy  fungi  nothing  has  been  discovered  which  can  shake  our 
faith  in  the  species  described  half  a  century,  or  more,  ago.  In 
the  Agarics,  for  instance,  the  forms  seem  to  be  as  permanent  and 


O  FUNGI. 

as  distinct  as  in  the  flowering  plants.  In  fact,  there  is  still  no 
reason  to  dissent,  except  to  a  very  limited  extent,  from  what 
was  written  before  polymorphism  was  accredited,  that,  "with  a 
few  exceptions  only,  it  may  without  doubt  be  asserted  that  more 
certain  species  do  not  exist  in  any  part  of  the  organized  world 
than  amongst  fungi.  The  same  species  constantly  recur  in  the 
same  places,  and  if  kinds  not  hitherto  detected  present  them- 
selves, they  are  either  such  as  are  well  known  in  other  districts, 
or  species  which  have  been  overlooked,  and  which  are  found  on 
better  experience  to  be  widely  diffused.  There  is  nothing  like 
chance  about  their  characters  or  growth."  * 

The  parasitism  of  numerous  minute  species  on  living  and 
growing  plants  has  its  parallel  even  amongst  phanerogams  in 
the  mistletoe  and  broom-rape  and  similar  species.  Amongst 
fungi  a  large  number  are  thus  parasitic,  distorting,  and  in  many 
cases  ultimately  destroying,  their  host,  burrowing  within  the 
tissues,  and  causing  rust  and  smut  in  corn  and  grasses,  or  even 
more  destructive  and  injurious  in  such  moulds  as  those  of  the 
potato  disease  and  its  allies.  A  still  larger  number  of  fungi 
are  developed  from  decayed  or  decaying  vegetable  matter. 
These  are  found  in  winter  on  dead  leaves,  twigs,  branches, 
rotten  wood,  the  remains  of  herbaceous  plants,  and  soil  largely 
charged  with  disintegrated  vegetables.  As  soon  as  a  plant 
begins  to  decay  it  becomes  the  source  of  a  new  vegetation, 
which  hastens  its  destruction,  and  a  new  cycle  of  life  com- 
mences. In  these  instances,  whether  parasitic  on  living  plants 
or  developed  on  dead  ones,  the  source  is  still  vegetable.  But 
this  is  not  always  the  case,  so  that  it  cannot  be  predicated  that 
fungi  are  wholly  epiphytal.  Some  species  are  always  found  on 
animal  matted,  leather,  horn,  bone,  &c.,  and  some  affect  such 
unpromising  substances  as  minerals,  from  which  it  would  be 
supposed  that  no  nourishment  could  be  obtained,  not  only  hard 
gravel  stones,  fragments  of  rock,  but  also  metals,  such  as  iron 
and  lead,  of  which  more  may  be  said  when  we  come  to  treat  of 
the  habitats  of  fungi.  Although  in  general  terms  fungi  may 
be  described  as  "  hysterophytal  or  epiphytal  mycetals  deriving 

*  Berkeley's  "Outlines  of  British  Pungology,"  p.  24. 


NATURE    OF   FUNGI.  7 

nourishment  by  means  of  a  mycelium  from  the  matrix,"*  there 
a*e  exceptions  to  this  rule  with  which  the  majority  accord. 

Of  the  fungi  found  on  animal  substances,  none  are  more 
extraordinary  than  those  species  which  attack  insects.  The 
white  mould  which  in  autumn  proves  so  destructive  to  the 
common  house-fly  may  for  the  present  be  omitted,  as  it  is 
probably  a  condition  of  one  of  the  Saprolegniei,  which  some 
authors  include  with  fungi,  and  others  with  algae.  Wasps, 
spiders,  moths,  and  butterflies  become  enveloped  in  a  kind  of 
mould  named  Isaria,  which  constitutes  the  conidia  of  Torrulia, 
a  genus  of  club-shaped  Spharice  afterwards  developed.  Some 
species  of  Isaria  and  Torrubia  also  affect  the  larvae  and  pupae 
of  moths  and  butterflies,  converting  the  whole  interior  into  a 
mass  of  mycelium,  and  fructifying  in  a  clavate  head.  It  has 
been  subject  for  discussion  whether  in  such  instances  the 
fungus  commenced  its  development  during  the  life  of  the  in- 
sect, and  thus  hastened  its  death,  or  whether  it  resulted  after 
death,  and  was  subsequent  to  the  commencement  of  decay,  t 
The  position  in  which  certain  large  moths  are  found  standing 
on  leaves  when  infested  with  Isaria  resembles  so  closely  that 
of  the  house-fly  when  succumbing  to  Sporendonema  MUSC&, 
would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  certainly  in  some  cases  the 
insect  was  attacked  by  the  fungus  whilst  still  living ;  whilst  in 
the  case  of  buried  caterpillars,  such  as  the  New  Zealand  or 
British  Hepialus,  it  is  difficult  to  decide.  Whether  in  life  or 
death  in  these  instances,  it  is  clear  that  the  silk- worm  disease 
Muscardine  attacks  the  living  insect,  and  causes  death.  In  the 
case  of  the  G-uepes  vegetantes,  the  wasp  is  said  to  fly  about  with 
the  fungus  partially  developed. 

In  all  fungi  we  may  recognize  a  vegetative  and  a  reproductive 
system  :  sometimes  the  first  only  becomes  developed,  and  then 
the  fungus  is  imperfect,  and  sometimes  the  latter  is  far  more 
prominent  than  the  former.  There  is  usually  an  agglomeration 
of  delicate  threads,  either  jointed  or  not,  which  are  somewhat 
analogous  to  the  roots  of  higher  plants.  These  delicate  threads 

*  Berkeley's  "Introduction  to  Cryptogamic  Botany,"  p.  235. 

t  Gray,  "  Notices  of  Insects  which  form  the  Basis  of  Fungoid  Parasites." 


8  FUNGI. 

permeate  the  tissues  of  plants  attacked  by  parasitic  fungi,  or 
they  run  over  dead  leaves  forming  whitened  patches,  formerly 
bearing  the  name  of  Himantia,  but  really  the  mycelium  of  some 
species  of  Marasmius.  If  checked  or  disturbed,  the  process 
stops  here,  and  only  a  mycelium  of  interwoven  threads  is 
produced.  In  this  condition  the  mycelium  of  one  species  so 
much  resembles  that  of  another,  that  no  accurate  determination 
can  be  made.  If  the  process  goes  on,  this  mycelium  gives  rise 
to  the  stem  and  cap  of  an  agaricoid  fungus,  completing  the 
vegetative  system.  This  in  turn  gives  origin  to  a  spore-bearing 
surface,  and  ultimately  the  fruit  is  formed,  and  then  the  fungus 
is  complete  ;  no  fungus  can  be  regarded  as  perfect  or  complete 
without  its  reproductive  system  being  developed.  In  some  this  is 
very  simple,  in  others  it  is  as  complex.  In  many  of  the  moulds  we 
have  miniature  representatives  of  higher  plants  in  the  mycelium 
or  roots,  stem,  branches,  and  at  length  capsules  bearing  sporidia, 
which  correspond  to  seeds.  It  is  true  that  leaves  are  absent, 
but  these  are  sometimes  compensated  by  lateral  processes  or 
abortive  branchlets.  A  tuft  of  mould  is  in  miniature  a  forest  of 
trees.  Although  such  a  definition  may  be  deemed  more  poetic 
than  accurate,  more  figurative  than  literal,  yet  few  could  believe 
in  the  marvellous  beauty  of  a  tuft  of  mould  if  they  never  saw  it 
as  exhibited  under  the  microscope.  In  such  a  condition  no  doubt 
could  be  entertained  of  its  vegetable  character.  But  there  is  a 
lower  phase  in  which  these  plants  are  sometimes  encountered ; 
they  may  consist  only  of  single  cells,  or  strings  of  cells,  or  threads 
of  simple  structure  floating  in  fluids.  In  such  conditions  only 
the  vegetative  system  is  probably  developed,  and  that  imperfectly, 
yet  some  have  ventured  to  give  names  to  isolated  cells,  or 
strings  of  cells,  or  threads  of  mycelium,  which  really  in  them- 
selves possess  none  of  the  elements  of  correct  classification — the 
vegetative  system,  even,  being  imperfect,  and  consequently  the 
reproductive  is  absent.  As  already  observed,  no  fungus  is  per- 
fect without  fruit  of  some  kind,  and  the  peculiarities  of  structure 
and  development  of  fruit  form  one  of  the  most  important  elements 
in  classification.  To  attempt,  therefore,  to  give  names  to  such 
imperfect  fragments  of  undeveloped  plants  is  almost  as  absurd 


NATURE   OF   FUNGI.  9 

as  to  name  a  flowering  plant  from  a  stray  fragment  of  a  root- 
fibril  accidentally  cast  out  of  the  ground — nay,-  even  worse,  for 
identification  would  probably  be  easier.  It  is  well  to  protest 
at  all  times  against  attempts  to  push  science  to  the  verge  of 
absurdity ;  and  such  must  be  the  verdict  upon  endeavours  to 
determine  positively  such  incomplete  organisms  as  floating  cells, 
or  hyaline  threads  which  may  belong  to  any  one  of  fifty  species 
of  moulds,  or  after  all  to  an  alga.  This  leads  us  to  remark,  in 
passing,  that  there  are  forms  and  conditions  under  which  fungi 
may  be  found  when,  fructification  being  absent — that  is,  the 
vegetative  system  alone  developed — they  approximate  so  closely 
to  algaB  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  say  to  which  group  the 
organisms  belong. 

Finally,  it  is  a  great  characteristic  of  fungi  in  general  that 
they  are  very  rapid  in  growth,  and  rapid  in  decay.  In  a  night 
a  puffball  will  grow  prodigiously,  and  in  the  same  short  period 
a  mass  of  paste  may  be  covered  with  mould.  In  a  few  hours  a 
gelatinous  mass  of  Eeticularia  will  pass  into  a  bladder  of  dust, 
or  a  Coprinus  will  be  dripping  into  decay.  Remembering  this, 
mycophagists  will  take  note  that  a  fleshy  fungus  which  may  be 
good  eating  at  noon  may  undergo  such  changes  in  a  few  hours 
as  to  be  anything  but  good  eating  at  night.  Many  instances 
have  been  recorded  of  the  rapidity  of  growth  in  fungi ;  it  may 
also  be  accepted  as  an  axiom  that  they  are,  in  many  instances, 
equally  as  rapid  in  decay. 

The  affinity  between  lichens  and  fungi  has  long  been  re- 
cognized to  its  fall  and  legitimate  extent  by  lichenologists  and 
mycologists.*  In  the  "  Introduction  to  Cryptogaraic  Botany,"  it 

*  On  the  relation  or  connection  between  fungi  and  lichens,  H.  C.  Sorby 
has  some  pertinent  remarks  in  his  communication  to  the  Royal  Society  on 
"Comparative  Vegetable  Chromatology "  (Proceedings  Royal  Society,  vol.  xxi. 
1873,  p.  479),  as  one  result  of  his  spectroscopic  examinations.  He  says, 
"Such  being  the  relations  between  the  organs  of  reproduction  and  the  foliage, 
it  is  to  some  extent  possible  to  understand  the  connection  between  parasitic 
plants  like  fungi,  which  do  not  derive  their  support  from  the  constructive 
energy  of  their  fronds,  and  those  which  are  self-supporting  and  possess  true 
fronds.  In  the  highest  classes  of  plants  the  flowers  are  connected  with  the 
leaves,  more  especially  by  means  of  xanthophyll  and  yellow  xanthophyll, 


10  FUNGI. 

was  proposed  to  unite  them  in  one  alliance,  under  the  name  of 
MycetaleS)  in  the  same  manner  as  the  late  Dr.  Lindley  had  united 
allied  orders  under  alliances  in  his  "Vegetable  Kingdom ;"  but, 
beyond  this,  there  was  no  predisposition  towards  the  theory 
since  propounded,  and  which,  like  all  new  theories,  has  collected 
a  small  but  zealous  circle  of  adherents.  It  will  be  necessary 
briefly  to  summarize  this  theory  and  the  arguments  by  which  it 
is  supported  and  opposed,  inasmuch  as  it  is  intimately  connected 
with  our  subject. 

As  recently  as  1868,  Professor  Schwendener  first  propounded 
his  views,*  and  then  briefly  and  vaguely,  that  all  and  every 
individual  lichen  was  but  an  algal,  which  had  collected  about  it 
a  parasitic  fungal  growth,  and  that  those  peculiar  bodies  which, 
under  the  name  of  gonidia,  were  considered  as  special  organs  of 
lichens,  were  only  imprisoned  algse.  In  language  which  the 
Rev.  J.  M.  Crombief  describes  as  "pictorial,"  this  author  gave 
the  general  conclusion  at  which  he  had  arrived,  as  follows : — 
"  As  the  result  of  my  researches,  all  these  growths  are  not  simple 
plants,  not  individuals  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term ;  they 
are  rather  colonies,  which  consist  of  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  individuals,  of  which,  however,  only  one  acts  as  master,  while 
the  others,  in  perpetual  captivity,  provide  nourishment  for  them- 
selves and  their  master.  This  master  is  a  fungus  of  the  order 
Ascomycetes,  a  parasite  which  is  accustomed  to  live  upon  the  work 
of  others ;  its  slaves  are  green  algae,  which  it  has  sought  out,  or 
indeed  caught  hold  of,  and  forced  into  its  service.  It  surrounds 

whereas  in  the  case  of  lichens  the  apothecia  contain  very  little,  if  any,  of  those 
substances,  but  a  large  amount  of  the  lichenoxanthines  so  characteristic  of  the 
class.  Looking  upon  fungi  from  this  chromatological  point  of  view,  they  bear 
something  like  the  same  relation  to  lichens  that  the  petals  of  a  leafless  parasitic 
plant  would  bear  to  the  foliage  of  one  of  normal  character — that  is  to  say,  they 
are,  as  it  were,  the  coloured  organs  of  reproduction  of  parasitic  plants  of  a  type 
closely  approaching  that  of  lichens,  which,  of  course,  is  in  very  close,  if  not  in 
absolute  agreement  with  the  conclusions  drawn  by  botanists  from  entirely 
different  data." 

*  Schwendener,  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  den  Flechtenthallus." 
t  Crombie  (J.   M.)  "  On  the  Lichen-Gonidia  Question,"  in  "  Popular  Science 
Review"  for  July,  1874. 


NATURE   OF   FUNGI.  11 

them,  as  a  spider  does  its  prey,  with  a  fibrous  net  of  narrow 
meshes,  which  is  gradually  converted  into  an  impenetrable 
covering.  While,  however,  the  spider  sucks  its  prey  and  leaves 
it  lying  dead,  the  fungus  incites  the  algae  taken  in  its  net  to 
more  rapid  activity ;  nay,  to  more  vigorous  increase."  This 
hypothesis,  ushered  upon  the  world  with  all  the  prestige  of  the 
Professor's  name,  was  not  long  in  meeting  with  adherents,  and 
the  cardinal  points  insisted  upon  were — 1st.  That  the  generic 
relationship  of  the  coloured  "gonidia"  to  the  colourless  fila- 
ments which  compose  the  lichen  thallus,  had  only  been  assumed, 
and  not  proved ;  2nd.  That  the  membrane  of  the  gonidia  was 
chemically  different  from  the  membrane  of  the  other  tissues, 
inasmuch  as  the  first  had  a  reaction  corresponding  to  that  ot 
algas,  whilst  the  second  had  that  of  fungi;  3rd.  That  the 
different  forms  and  varieties  of  gonidia  corresponded  with 
parallel  types  of  algae ;  4th.  That  as  the  germination  of  the 
spore  had  not  been  followed  further  than  the  development  of  a 
hypothallus,  it  might  be  accounted  for  by  the  absence  of  the 
essential  algal  on  which  the  new  organism  should  become  para- 
sitic; 5th.  That  there  is  a  striking  correspondence  between  the 
development  of  the  fruit  in  lichens  and  in  some  of  the  sporidii- 
ferous  fungi  (Pyrenomycetes}. 

These  five  points  have  been  combated  incessantly  by  lichen- 
ologists,  who  would  really  be  supposed  by  ordinary  minds  to  be 
the  most  practically  acquainted  with  the  structure  and  develop- 
ment of  these  plants,  in  opposition  to  the  theorists.  It  is  a  fact 
which  should  have  some  weight,  that  no  lichenologist  of  repute 
has  as  yet  accepted  the  theory.  In  1873  Dr.  E.  Bornet*  came 
to  the  aid  of  Schwendener,  and  almost  exhausted  the  subject, 
but  failed  to  convince  either  the  practised  lichenologist  or 
mycologist.  The  two  great  points  sought  to  be  established  are 
these,  that  what  we  call  lichens  are  compound  organisms,  not 
simple,  independent  vegetable  entities  ;  and  that  this  compound 
organism  consists  of  unicellular  algae,  with  a  fungus  parasitic 
upon  them.  The  coloured  gonidia  which  are  found  in  the 

*  Bornet,  (E.),  "  Recherches  sur  les  Gonidies  des  Lichens,"  in  "  Ann.  des  Sci. 
flat."  1873,  5  ser.  vol.  xvii. 


12  FUNGI. 

substance,  or  thallus  of  lichens,  are  the  supposed  algoe  ;  and  the 
cellular  structure  which  surrounds,  encloses,  and  imprisons  the 
gonidia  is  the  parasitic  fungus,  which  is  parasitic  on  something 
infinitely  smaller  than  itself,  and  which  it  entirely  and  absolutely 
isolates  from  all  external  influences. 

Dr.  Bornet  believed  himself  to  have  established  that  every 
gonidium  of  a  lichen  may  be  referred  to  a  species  of  algae,  and 
that  the  connection  between  the  hypha  and  gonidia  is  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  exclude  all  possibility  of  the  one  organ  being  pro- 
duced by  the  other.  This  he  thinks  is  the  only  way  in  which  it 
can  be  accounted  for  that  the  gonidia  of  diverse  lichens  should 
be  almost  identical. 

Dr.  Nylander,  in  referring  to  this  hypothesis  of  an  imprisoned 
algal,*  writes  :  "  The  absurdity  of  such  an  hypothesis  is  evident 
from  the  very  consideration  that  it  cannot  be  the  case  that  an 
organ  (gonidia)  should  at  the  same  time  be  a  parasite  on  the 
body  of  which  it  exercises  vital  functions  ;  for  with  equal 
propriety  it  might  be  contended  that  the  liver  or  the  spleen 
constitutes  parasites  of  the  mammifera3.  Parasite  existence  is 
autonomous,  living  upon  a  foreign  body,  of  which  nature 
prohibits  it  from  being  at  the  same  time  an  organ.  This  is 
an  elementary  axiom  of  general  physiology.  But  observation 
directly  made  teaches  that  the  green  matter  originally  arises 
within  the  primary  chlorophyll-  or  phycochrom-bearing  cellule, 
and  consequently  is  not  intruded  from  any  external  quarter,  nor 
arises  in  any  way  from  any  parasitism  of  any  kind.  The  cellule 
at  first  is  observed  to  be  empty,  and  then,  by  the  aid  of  secretion, 
green  matter  is  gradually  produced  in  the  cavity  and  assumes  a 
definite  form.  It  can,  therefore,  be  very  easily  and  evidently 
demonstrated  that  the  origin  of  green  matter  in  lichens  is  en- 
tirely the  same  as  in  other  plants."  On  another  occasion,  and  in 
another  place,  the  same  eminent  lichenologist  remarks,t  as  to 
the  supposed  algoid  nature  of  gonidia — "  that  such  an  unnatural 
existence  as  they  would  thus  pass,  enclosed  in  a  prison  and 

*  Ny lander,  "On  the  Algo-Lichen  Hypothesis,"  &c.,  in  ' ' Grevillea, "  vol.  ii. 
(1874),  No.  22,  p.  146. 

t  In  Regensburg  "Flora,"  1870,  p.  92. 


NATURE    OF   FUNGI.  13 

deprived  of  all  autonomous  liberty,  is  not  at  all  consonant  with 
the  manner  of  existence  of  the  other  alga3,  and  that  it  has  no 
parallel  in  nature,  for  nothing  physiologically  analogous  occurs 
anywhere  else.  Krempelhuber  has  argued  that  there  are  no 
conclusive  reasons  against  the  assumption  that  the  lichen-gonidia 
may  be  self-developed  organs  of  the  lichen  proper  rather  than 
algse,  and  that  these  gonidia  can  continue  to  vegetate  separately, 
and  so  be  mistaken  for  unicellular  algae."  In  this  Th.  Fries 
seems  substantially  to  concur.  But  there  is  one  strong  argu- 
ment, or  rather  a  repetition  of  an  argument  already  cited,  placed 
in  a  much  stronger  light,  which  is  employed  by  Nylander  in  the 
following  words : — "  So  'far  are  what  are  called  alga3,  according 
to  the  turbid  hypothesis  of  Schwendener,  from  constituting  true 
algae,  that  on  the  contrary  it  may  be  affirmed  that  they  have  a 
lichenose  nature,  whence  it  follows  that  these  pseudo-algoa  are 
in  a  systematic  arrangement  to  be  referred  rather  to  the  lichens, 
and  that  the  class  of  algse  hitherto  so  vaguely  limited  should  be 
circumscribed  by  new  and  truer  limits. 

As  to  another  phase  in  this  question,  there  are,  as  Krempel- 
huber remarks,  species  of  lichens  which  in  many  countries  do 
not  fructify,  and  whose  propagation  can  only  be  carried  on  by 
means  of  the  soredia,  and  the  hyphaD  of  such  could  in  themselves 
alone  no  more  serve  for  propagation  than  the  hyphas  from  the 
pileus  or  stalk  of  an  Agaric,  while  it  is  highly  improbable  that 
they  could  acquire  this  faculty  by  interposition  of  a  foreign 
algal.  On  the  other  hand  he  argues :  "  It  is  much  more  con- 
formable to  nature  that  the  gonidia,  as  self-developed  organs  of 
the  lichens,  should,  like  the  spores,  enable  the  hyphae  proceeding 
from  them  to  propagate  the  individual.* 

A  case  •  in  point  has  been  adducedf  in  which  gonidia  were 
produced  by  the  hypha,  and  the  genus  Emericella^  which  is 
allied  to  Husseia  in  the  TricTiogastres,  shows  a  structure  in  the 
stem  exactly  resembling  Palmella  botryoides  of  Greville,  and  to 
what  occurs  in  Synalyssa.  EmericeUa,  with  one  or  two  other 

*  Rev.  J.  M.  Crombie,  in  "  Popular  Science  Review,"  July,  1874. 
f  Berkeley's  "  Introduction  to  Cryptogamic  Botany,"  p.  373,  fig.  78a. 
£  Berkeley's  "Introduction,"  p.  341,  fig.  76. 


14  FUNGI. 

genera,  must,  however,  be  considered  as  connecting  TricJiogastres 
with  lichens,  and  the  question  cannot  be  considered  as  satis- 
factorily decided  till  a  series  of  experiments  has  been  made  on 
the  germination  of  lichen  spores  and  their  relation  to  free  algae 
considered  identical  with  gonidia.  Mr.  Thwaites  was  the  first 
to  point  out*  the  relation  of  the  gonidia  in  the  different  sections 
of  lichens  to  different  types  of  supposed  algae.  The  question 
cannot  be  settled  by  mere  a  priori  notions.  It  is,  perhaps, 
worthy  of  remark  that  in  ChionypTie  Carteri  the  threads  grow 
over  the  cysts  exactly  as  the  hypha  of  lichens  is  represented  as 
growing  over  the  gonidia. 

Recently,  Dr.  Thwaites  has  communicated  his  views  on  one 
phase  of  this  controversy,^  which  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
question  as  seen  from  the  mycological  side.  As  is  well  known, 
this  writer  has  had  considerable  experience  in  the  study  of  the 
anatomy  and  physiology  of  all  the  lower  cryptogamia,  and  any 
suggestion  of  his  on  such  a  subject  will  at  least  commend  itself 
to  a  patient  consideration. 

"  According  to  our  experience,"  he  writes,  "  I  think  parasitic 
fungi  invariably  produce  a  sad  effect  upon  the  tissues  they  fix 
themselves  upon  or  in.  These  tissues  become  pale  in  colour, 
and  in  every  respect  sickly  in  a-ppearance.  But  who  has  ever 
seen  the  gonidia  of  lichens  the  worse  for  having  the  *  hypha ' 
growing  amongst  them  ?  These  gonidia  are  always  in  the 
plumpest  state,  and  with  the  freshest,  healthiest  colour  possible. 
Cannot  it  enter  into  the  heads  of  these  most  patient  and  ex- 
cellent observers,  that  a  cryptogamic  plant  may  have  two  kinds 
of  tissue  growing  side  by  side,  without  the  necessity  of  one 
being  parasitic  upon  the  other,  just  as  one  of  the  higher  plants 
may  have  half  a  dozen  kinds  of  tissue  making  up  its.  organiza- 
tion ?  The  beautifully  symmetrical  growth  of  the  same  lichens 
has  seemed  to  me  a  sufficient  argument  against  one  portion 
being  parasitic  upon  another,  but  when  we  see  all  harmony  and 
robust  health,  the  idea  that  one  portion  is  subsisting  parasitically 
upon  another  appears  to  me  to  be  a  perfect  absurdity." 

*   "Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,"  April,  1849. 
f  In  "Gardener's  Chronicle"  for  1873,  p.  1341. 


NATURE    OF   FUNGI.  15 

It  appears  to  us  that  a  great  deal  of  confusion  and  a  large 
number  of  errors  which  creep  into  our  modern  generalizations 
and  hypotheses,  may  be  traced  to  the  acceptance  of  analogies 
for  identities.  How  many  cases  of  mistaken  identity  has  the 
improvement  of  microscopes  revealed  during  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century.  This  should  at  least  serve  as  a  caution  for  the 
future. 

Apart,  however,  from  the  "  gonidia,"  whatever  they  may  be, 
is  the  remainder  of  the  lichen  a  genuine  fungus  ?  Nylander 
writes,  "  The  anatomical  filamentose  elements  of  lichens  are 
distinguished  by  various  characters  from  the  hypha3  of  fungi. 
They  are  firmer,  elastic,  and  at  once  present  themselves  in  the 
texture  of  lichens.  On  the  other  hand,  the  hyphse  of  fungi  are 
very  soft,  they  possess  a  thin  wall,  and  are  not  at  all  gelatinous, 
while  they  are  immediately  dissolved  by  the  application  of 
hydrate  of  potash,  &c.* 

Our  own  experience  is  somewhat  to  the  effect,  that  there  are 
some  few  lichens  which  are  doubtful  as  to  whether  they  are 
fungi  or 'lichens,  but,  in  by  far  the  majority  of  cases,  there  is 
not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  determining,  from  the  peculiar 
firmness  and  elasticity  of  the  tissues,  minute  peculiarities  which 
the  practised  hand  can  detect  rather  than  describe,  and  even 
the  general  character  of  the  fruit  that  they  differ  materially 
from,  though  closely  allied  to  fungi.  We  have  only  experience 
to  guide  us  in  these  matters,  but  that  is  something,  and  we  have 
no  experience  in  fungi  of  anything  like  a  Cladonia,  however 
much  it  may  resemble  a  Torrubia  or  Clavaria.  We  have  Pezizcs 
with  a  subiculum  in  the  section  Tapesia,  but  the  veriest  tyro 
would  not  confound  them  with  species  of  Parmelia.  It  is  true 
that  a  great  number  of  lichens,  at  first  sight,  and  casually,, 
resemble  species  of  the  Hysteriacei,  but  it  is  no  less  strange 
than  true,  that  lichenologists  and  mycologists  know  their  own 
sufficiently  not  to  commit  depredations  on  each  other. 

Contributions  are  daily  being  made  to  this  controversy,  and 
already  the  principal  arguments  on  both  sides  have  appeared  in 

*  "Grevillea,"  vol.  ii.  p.  147,  in  note. 


16  FUNGI. 

an  English  dress,*  hence  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  repeat  those 
which  are  modifications  only  of  the  views  already  stated,  our 
own  conclusions  being  capable  of  a  very  brief  summary :  that 
lichens  and  fungi  are  closely  related  the  one  to  the  other,  but 
that  they  are  not  identical ;  that  the  "  gonidia "  of  lichens 
are  part  of  the  lichen- organization,  and  consequently  are  not 
algae,  -or  any  introduced  bodies  ;  that  there  is  no  parasitism ; 
and  that  the  lichen  thallus,  exclusive  of  gonidia,  is  wholly 
unknown  amongst  fungi. 

The  Rev.  J.  M.  Crombie  has  therefore  our  sympathies  in  the 
remark  with  which  his  summary  of  the  gonidia  controversy 
closes,  in  which  he  characterizes  it  as  a  "  sensational  romance  of 
lichenology,"  of  the  "  unnatural  union  between  a  captive  algal 
damsel  and  a  tyrant  fungal  master." 

*  W.  Archer,  in  "Quart.  Journ.  Micr.  Sci."  vol.  xiii.  p.  217;  vol.  xiv. 
p.  115.  Translation  of  Schwendener's  "Nature  of  the  Gonidia  of  Lichens,"  in 
same  journal,  vol.  xiii.  p.  235. 


n. 

STRUCTURE. 

WITHOUT  some  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  fungi,  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  comprehend  the  principles  of  classification,  or  to 
appreciate  the  curious  phenomena  of  polymorphism.  Yet  there 
is  so  great  a  variety  in  the  structure  of  the  different  groups, 
that  this  subject  cannot  be  compressed  within  a  few  paragraphs, 
neither  do  we  think  that  this  would  be  desired  if  practicable, 
seeing  that  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  plants  is,  in  itself, 
sufficiently  important  and  interesting  to  warrant  a  rather  ex- 
tended and  explicit  survey.  In  order  to  impart  as  much  prac- 
tical utility  as  possible  to  this  chapter,  it  seems  advisable  to 
treat  some  of  the  most  important  and  typical  orders  and  sub- 
orders separately,  giving  prominence  to  the  features  which  are 
chiefly  characteristic  of  those  sections,  following  the  order  of 
systematists  as  much  as  possible,  whilst  endeavouring  to  render 
each  section  independent  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  complete 
in  itself.  Some  groups  naturally  present  more  noteworthy 
features  than  others,  and  will  consequently  seem  to  receive 
more  than  their  proportional  share  of  attention,  but  this  seem- 
ing inequality  could  scarcely  have  been  avoided,  inasmuch  as 
hitherto  some  groups  have  been  more  closely  investigated  than 
others,  are  more  intimately  associated  with  other  questions,  or 
are  more  readily  and  satisfactorily  examined  under  different 
aspects  of  their  life-history. 

AGARICINI. — For  the  structure  that  prevails  in  the  order  to 
which  the  mushroom  belongs,  an  examination  of  that  species 
will  be  almost  sufficient.  Here  we  shall  at  once  recognize 


18 


FUNGI. 


three  distinct  parts  requiring  elucidation,  viz.  ,  the  rooting 
slender  fibres  that  traverse  the  soil,  and  termed  the  mycelium, 
or  spawn,  the  stem  and  cap  or  pileus,  which  together  con- 
stitute what  is  called  the  Jiymenophore,  and  the  plates  or  gills 
on  the  under  surface  of  the  cap,  which  bear  the  liymenium. 
The  earliest  condition  in  which  the  mushroom  can  be  recognized 
as  a  vegetable  entity  is  in  that  of  the  "  spawn  "  or  mycelium, 
which  is  essentially  an  agglomeration  of  vegetating  spores.  Its 
normal  form  is  that  of  branched,  slender,  entangled,  anasto- 
mosing, hyaline  threads.  At  certain  privileged  points  of  the  my- 
celium, the  threads  seem  to  be  aggregated,  and  become  centres 
of  vertical  extension.  At  first  only  a  small  nearly  globose  bud- 


FIG.  1.— Agaric  in  Process  of  Growth. 

ding,  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  is  visible,  but  this  after- 
wards increases  rapidly,  and  other  similar  buddings  or  swellings 
appear  at  the  base.*  These  are  the  young  hymenophore.  As 

*  A  curious  case  occurred  some  years  since  at  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  which  may  be 
mentioned  here  in  connection  with  the  development  of  these  nodules.  Two  children 
had  died  under  suspicious  circumstances,  and  an  examination  of  the  body  of 
the  latter  after  exhumation  was  made,  a  report  having  arisen  that  the  child  died 
after  eating  mushrooms.  As  certain  white  nodules  appeared  on  the  inner  surface 
of  the  intestines,  it  was  at  once  hastily  concluded  that  the  spores  of  the  mush- 
room had  germinated,  and  that  the  nodules  were  infant  mushrooms.  This 
appeared  to  one  of  us  so  strange,  that  application  was  made  for.  specimens, 
which  were  kindly  forwarded,  and  a  cursory  glance  was  enough  to  convince  us 
that  they  were  not  fungoid.  An  examination  under  the  microscope  further  con- 
firmed the  diagnosis,  and  the  application  of  nitric  acid  showed  that  the  nodules 
were  merely  due  to  chalk  mixture,  which  had  been  given  to  the  child  for  the 
diarrhetic  symptoms  under  which  he  succumbed. 


STRUCTURE. 


19 


it  pushes  through  the  soil,  it  gradually  loses  its  globose  form, 
becomes  more  or  less  elongated,  and  in  this  condition  a  longitu- 
dinal section  shows  the  position  of  the  future  gills^in  a  pair  of 
opposite  crescent-shaped  darker-coloured  spots  near  the  apex. 
The  dermal  membrane,  or  outer  skin,  seems  to  be  continuous 
over  the  stem  and  the  globose  head.  At  present,  there  is  no 
external  evidence  of  an  expanded  pileus  and  gills ;  a  longitu- 
dinal section  at  this  stage  shows  that  the  gills  are  being  deve- 
loped, that  the  pileus  is  assuming  its  cap-like  form,  that  the 
membrane  stretching  from  the  stem  to  the  edge  of  the  young 
pileus  is  separating  from  the  edge  of  the  gills,  and  forming  a 
veil,  which,  in  course  of  time,  will  separate  below  and  leave  the 
gills  exposed.  When,  therefore,  the  mushroom  has  arrived 
almost  at  maturity,  the  pileus 
expands,  and  in  this  act  the 
veil  is  torn  away  from  the 
margin  of  the  cap,  and  re- 
mains for  a  time  like  a  collar 
around  the  stem.  Fragments 
of  the  veil  often  remain  at- 
tached to  the  margin  of  the 
pileus,  and  the  collar  adhe- 
rent to  the  stem  falls  back, 
and  thenceforth  is  known  as 
the  annulus  or  ring.  We 
have  in  this  stage  the  fully- 
developed  hymenophore, — 
the  stem  with  its  ring,  sup- 
porting an  expanded  cap  or 
pileus,  with  gills  on  the  under 
surface  bearing  the  hyme-  FlG-  2.— Section  of  Common  Mushroom. 
nium.*  A  longitudinal  section  cut  through  the  pileus  and  down 

*  Elirenberg  compareel  the  whole  structure  of  an  Agaric  with  that  of  a  mould, 
the  mycelium  corresponding  with  the  hyphasma,  the  stern  and  pileus  with  the 
flocci,  and  the  hymenium  with  the  fructifying  branchlets.  The  comparison  is  no 
less  ingenious  than  true,  and  gives  a  lively  idea  of  the  connection  of  the  more 
noble  with  the  more  humble  fungi.  —Ehrb.  de  Mycctoyenesi. 


20  FUNGI. 

the  stem,  gives  the  best  notion  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
parts,  and  their  relation  to  the  whole.  By  this  means  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  pileus  is  continuous  with  the  stem,  that  the  sub- 
stance of  the  pileus  descends  into  the  gills,  and  that  relatively 
the  substance  of  the  stem  is  more  fibrous  than  that  of  the  pileus. 
In  the  common  mushroom  the  ring  is  very  distinct  surrounding 
the  stem,  a  little  above  the  middle,  like  a  collar.  In  some 
Agarics  the  ring  is  very  fugacious,  or  absent  altogether.  The 
form  of  the  gills,  their  mode  of  attachment  to  the  stem,  their 
colour,  and  more  especially  the  colour  of  the  spores,  are  all  very 
important  features  to  be  attended  to  in  the  discrimination  of 
species,  since  they  vary  in  different  species.  The  whole 
substance  of  the  Agaric  is  cellular.  A  longitudinal  slice  from 
the  stem  will  exhibit  under  the  microscope  delicate  tubular 
cells,  the  general  direction  of  which  is  lengthwise,  with  lateral 
branches,  the  whole  interlacing  so  intimately  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  trace  any  individual  thread  very  far  in  its  course.  It 
will  be  evident  that  the  structure  is  less  compact  as  it  approaches 
the  centre  of  the  stem,  which  in  many  species  is  hollow.  The 
liymenium  is  the  spore-bearing  surface,  which  is  exposed  or  naked, 
and  spread  over  the  gills.  These  plates  are  covered  on  all  sides 
with  a  delicate  membrane,  upon  which  the  reproductive  organs 
are  developed.  If  it  were  possible  to  remove  this  membrane  in 
one  entire  piece  and  spread  it  out  fiat,  it  would  cover  an 
immense  surface,  as  compared  with  the  size  of  the  pileus,  for  it 
is  plaited  or  folded  like  a  lady's  fan  over  the  whole  of  the  gill- 
plates,  or  lamellee,  of  the  fungus.*  If  the  stem  of  a  mushroom 
be  cut  off  close  to  the  gills,  and  the  cap  laid  upon  a  sheet  of 
paper,  with  the  gills  downwards,  and  left  there  for  a  few  hours, 
when  removed  a  number  of  dark  radiating  line  swill  be  deposited 
upon  the  paper,  each  line  corresponding  with  the  interstices 
between  one  pair  of  gills.  These  lines  are  made  up  of  spores 
which  have  fallen  from  the  hymenium,  and,  if  placed  under  the 
microscope,  their  character  will  at  once  be  made  evident.  If 
a  fragment  of  the  hymenium  be  also  submitted  to  a  similar 
examination,  it  will  be  found  that  the  whole  surface  is  studded 
*  In  Paxillus  involutus  the  hymenium  may  be  readily  torn  off  and  unfolded. 


STRUCTURE. 


21 


with  spores.  The  first  peculiarity  which  will  be  observed  is, 
that  these  spores  are  almost  uniformly  in  groups  of  four 
together.  The  next  feature .  to  be  observed  is,  that  each  spore 
is  borne  upon  a  slender  stalk  or  sterigma,  and  that  four  of  these 
sterigmata  proceed  from  the  apex  of  a  thicker  projection,  from 
the  bymenium,  called  a  basidium,  each  basidium  being  the  sup- 
porter of  four  sterigmata,  and  each  sterigma  of  a  spore.*  A 
closer  examination  of  the  hymenium  will  reveal  the  fact  that 
the  basidia  are  accompained  by  other  bodies,  often  larger,  but 
without  sterigmata  or  spores  ;  these  have  been  termed  cysiidia, 
and  their  structure  and  functions  have 
been  the  subject  of  much  controversy. t 
Both  kinds  of  bodies  are  produced  on 
the  hymenium  of  most,  if  not  all,  the 
Agaricini. 

The  basidia  are  usually  expanded 
upwards,  so  as  to  have  more  or  less 
of  a  clavate  form,  surmounted  by  four 
slender  points,  or  tubular  processes, 
each  supporting  a  spore  ;  the  contents 
of  these  cells  are  granular,  mixed 
apparently  with  oleaginous  particles, 
which  communicate  through  the 
slender  tubes  of  the  spicules  with 
the  interior  of  the  spores.  Corda 

FIG.  3.— a.  Sterile   cells.     6.  Ba- 

States  that,  although  Only  One  Spore  IS  sidia.    c.    Cystidium.     From  Gom- 
, .  i  phidius  (de  Seyiies). 

produced    at    a  time  on   each  sporo- 

phore,  when  this  falls  away  others  are  produced  in  succession 
for  a  limited  period.  As  the  spores  approach  maturity,  the  con- 
nection between  their  contents  and  the  contents  of  the  basidia 
diminishes  and  ultimately  ceases.  When  the  basidium  which 
bears  mature  spores  is  still  well  charged  with  granular  matter, 
it  may  be  presumed  that  the  production  of  a  second  or  third 

*  This  was  well  delineated  in  "Flora  Danica,"  plate  834,  as  observed  in  Coprimts 
comatus  as  long  ago  as  1780. 

t  A.  deBary,  "  Morphologie  und  Physiologic defPilze,"  in  "Hofmeister's  Hand- 
buch,"  vol.  ii.  cap.  5,  1866,  translated  in  "  Grevillea,"  vol.  i.  p.  181. 


22  FUNGI. 

series  of  spores  is  quite  possible.  Basidia  exhausted  entirely  of 
their  contents,  and  which  have  become  quite  hyaline,  may  often 
be  observed. 

The  cystidia  are  usually  larger  than  the  basidia,  varying  in 
size  and  form  in  different  species.  They  present  the  appearance 
of  large  sterile  cells,  attenuated  upwards,  sometimes  into  a 
slender  neck.  Corda  was  of  opinion  that  these  were  male 
organs,  and  gave  them  the  name  of  pollinaires.  Hoffmann  has 
also  described  *  both  these  organs  under  the  names  of  pollinaria 
and  spermatia,  but  does  not  appear  to  recognize  in  them  the 
sexual  elements  which  those  names  would  indicate  ;  whilst 
de  Seynes  suggests  that  the  cystidia  are  only  organs  returned  to 
vegetative  functions  by  a  sort  of  hypertrophy  of  the  basidia.  f 
This  view  seems  to  be  supported  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  section 
Pluteus  and  some  others,  the  cystidia  are  surmounted  by  short 
horns  resembling  sterigmata.  Hoffmann  has  also  indicated  J 
the  passage  of  cystidia  into  basidia.  The  evidence  seems  to  be  in 
favour  of  regarding  the  cystidia  as  barren  conditions  of  basidia. 
There  are  to  be  found  upon  the  hymenium  of  Agarics  a  third 
kind  of  elongated  cells,  called  by  Corda  §  basilary  cells,  and  by 
Hoffmann  "  sterile  cells,"  which  are  either  equal  in  size  or  smaller 
than  the  basidia,  with  which  also  their  structure  agrees,  except- 
ing in  the  development  of  spicules.  These  are  the  "  proper  cells 
of  the  hymenium  "  of  Leveille,  and  are  simply  the  terminal  cells 
of  the  gill  structure — cells  which,  under  vigorous  conditions, 
might  be  developed  into  basidia,  but  which  are  commonly 
arrested  in  their  development.  As  suggested  by  de  Seynes,  the 
hymenium  seems  to  be  reduced  to  great  simplicity,  "  one  sole 
and  self-same  organ  is  the  basis  of  it;  according  as  it  experiences 
an  arrest  of  development,  as  it  grows  and  fructifies,  or  as  it 
becomes  hypertrophied,  it  gives  us  a  paraphyse,  a  basidium,  or 
a  cystidium — in  other  terms,  atrophied  basidium,  normal  basi- 

*   "  Die  Pollinarien  und  Spermatien  von  Agaricus,"  in  "Botanische  Zeitung," 
Feb.  29  and  March  7,  1856. 

t  "  Essai  d'une  Flore  mycologique  de  la  Region  de  Montpellier."    Paris,  1863. 

J  Hoffmann,  "Botanische  Zeitung,"  1856,  p.  139. 

§  Corda,  "  Icones  Fungorum  hucusque  cognitorum,"  iii.  p.  41.    Prague,  1839. 


STRUCTURE.  23 

dium,  and  hypertrophied  basidium  ;  these  are  the  three  elements 
which  form  the  hymenium."* 

The  only  reproductive  organs  hitherto  demonstrated  in  Agarics 
are  the  spores,  or,  as  sometimes  called,  from  their  method  of 
production,  basidiospores.\  These  are  at  first  colourless,  but 
afterwards  acquire  the  colour  peculiar  to  the  species.  In  size 
'and  form  they  are,  within  certain  limits,  exceedingly  variable, 
although  form  and  size  are  tolerably  constant  in  the  same 
species.  At  first  all  are  globose;  as  they  mature,  the  majority  are 
ovoid  or  elliptic  ;  some  are  fusiform,  with  regularly  attenuated 
extremities.  In  Hygrophorus  they  are  rather  irregular,  reniform, 
or  compressed  in  the  middle.  Sometimes  the  external  surface  is 
rough  with  more  or  less  projecting  warts.  Some  mycologists 
are  of  opinion  that  the  covering  of  the  spore  is  double,  consist- 
ing of  an  exospore  and  an  endospore,  the  latter  being  veiy  fine 
and  delicate.  In  other  orders  the  double  coating  of  the  spore 
has  been  demonstrated.  When  the  spore  is  coloured,  the  exter- 
nal membrane  alone  appears  to  pos- 
sess colour,  the  endospore  being  con- 
stantly hyaline.  It  may  be  added  here, 
that  in  this  order  the  spore  is  simpls 
and  unicellular.  In  Lactarius  and 
Russula  the  trama,  or  inner  substance, 
is  vesicular.  True  latex  vessels  occur 
occasionally  in  Agaricus,  though  not 
filled  with  milk  as  in  Laatarius. 

POLYPOREI. — In  this  order  the  gill 
plates  are  replaced  by  tubes  or  pores,      C)  x— 
the  interior  of  which    is  lined  bv  the        , 

.  ...  .  *»°-  *•  — Polyporus  gryantms ( re- 

hymemum  ;  indications  of  this  struc-    duced). 

ture    having    already    been    exhibited    in    some   of    the   lower 

*  Cooke,  M.  C.,  "Anatomy  of  a  Mushroom, "in  "Popular  Science  Review," 
vol.  viii.  p.  380. 

t  An  attempt  was  made  to  show  that,  in  Agaricus  melleus,  distinct  asci  were 
found,  in  a  certain  stage,  on  the  gills  or  lamellae.  We  have  in  vain  examined  the 
gills  in  various  conditions,  and  could  never  detect  anything  of  the  kind.  It  is 
probable  that  the  asci  belonged  to  some  species  of  Ifypomyccs,  a  genus  of  para- 
sitic Sphoeriaceous  fungi. 


24  FUNGI. 

Agancvni.  In  many  cases  the  stem  is  suppressed.  The  sub- 
stance is  fleshy  in  Boletus,  but  in  Polyporus  the  greater  number 
of  species  are  leathery  or  corky,  and  more  persistent.  The 
basidia,  spicules,  and  quaternate  spores  agree  with  those  of 
Ayaricini.*  In  fact  there  are  no  features  of  importance  which 
relate  to  the  hymenium  in  any  order  of  Hymenomycetes  (the 
Tremellini  excepted)  differing  from  the  same  organ  in  Agaricim, 
unless  it  be  the  absence  of  cystidia. 

HYDNEI. — Instead  of  pores, 
in  this  order  the  hymenium 
is  spread  over  the  surface  of 
spines,  prickles,  or  warts.f 

AURICULARINI. — The  hyme- 
nium is  more  or  less  even, 
and  in — 

CLAVARIEI  the  whole  fungus 
is    club-shaped,   OT   more    or 
less  intricately  branched,  with 
FIG.  5.— Hydnum  repandum.  the   hymenium  covering   the 

outer  surface. 

TREMELLINI. — In  this  order  we  have  a  great  departure  from 
the  character  of  the  substance,  external  appearance,  and  internal 
structure  of  the  other  orders  in  this  family.  Here  we  have  a 
gelatinous  substance,  and  the  form  is  lobed,  folded,  convolute, 
often  resembling  the  brain  of  some  animal.  The  internal  struc- 

*  It  is  not  intended  that  the  spores  are  always  quaternate  in  Agaricini,  though 
that  number  is  constant  in  the  more  typical  species.  They  sometimes  exceed 
four,  and  are  sometimes  reduced  to  one. 

+  The  species  long  known  as  Hydnum  gelatinosum  was  examined  by  Mr.  F. 
Currey  in  1860  (Journ.  Linn.  Soc.),  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
not  a  good  Hydnum.  Since  then  it  has  been  made  the  type  of  a  new  genus 
(Hydnoglcea  B.  and  Br.  or,  as  called  by  Fries,  in  the  new  edition  of  "Epicrisis, " 
Tremellodon,  Pers.  Myc.  Eur.),  and  transferred  to  the  Tremellini.  Currey  says, 
upon  examining  the  fructification,  he  was  surprised  to  find  that,  although  in  its 
external  characters  it  was  a  perfect  Hydnum,  it  bore  the  fruit  of  a  Tremella. 
If  one  of  the  teeth  be  examined  with  the  microscope,  it  will  be  seen  to  consist  of 
threads  bearing  four-lobed  sporophores,  and  spores  exactly  similar  to  Tremella. 
It  will  thus  be  seen,  he  adds,  that  the  plant  is  exactly  intermediate  between 
Ilydnei  and  Tremellini,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  stepping-stone  from  one  to  the  other. 


STRUCTUBE. 


25 


ture  has  been  specially  illustrated  by  M.  Tulasne,*  through  the 
common  species,  Tremella  mesenterica.  This  latter  is  of  a 
fine  golden  yellow  colour,  and  rather 
large  size.  It  is  uniformly  composed 
throughout  of  a  colourless  mucilage, 
with  no  appreciable  texture,  in  which 
are  distributed  very  fine,  diversely 
branched  and  anastomosing  filaments. 
Towards  the  surface,  the  ultimate 
branches  of  this  filamentous  network 
give  birth,  both  at  their  summits  and 
laterally,  to  globular  cells,  which  ac- 
quire a  comparatively  large  size.  Fl<>-  o.—0aiocera 
These  cells  are  filled  with  a  protoplasm,  to  which  the  plant 
owes  its  orange  colour.  When  they  have  attained  their  normal 
dimensions,  they  elongate  at  the  summit  into  two,  three,  or 
four  distinct,  thick,  obtuse  tubes,  into  which  the  protoplasm 
gradually  passes.  The  development 
of  these  tubes  is  unequal  and  not 
simultaneous,  so  that  one  will  often 
attain  its  full  dimensions,  equal,  per- 
haps, to  three  or  four  times  the  dia- 
meter of  the  generative  cell,  whilst 
the  others  are  only  just  appearing. 
By  degrees,  as-  each  tube  attains  its 
full  size,  it  is  attenuated  into  a  fine 
point,  the  extremity  of  which  swells 
into  a  spheroidal  cell,  which  ulti- 
mately becomes  a  spore.  Sometimes  these  tubes,  or  spicules, 
send  out  one  or  two  lateral  branches,  each  terminated  by  a  spore. 
These  spores  (about  '006  to  *008  mm.  diameter)  are  smooth,  and 
deposit  themselves,  like  a  fine  white  dust,  on  the  surface  of  the 
Tremella  and  on  its  matrix.  M.  Leveillef  was  of  opinion  that 

*  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "  Observations  on  the  Organization  of  the  Tremellini,'' 
in  "Ann.  des  ScJ.  Nat."  3me  se>.  xix.  (1853),  pp.  193,  &c. 

f  M.  Leveille,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  2me  se"r.  viii.  p.  328  ;  3me  ser.  ix. 
l>.  127  ;  also  Bonorden,  "Handbuch  der  Mycologie,"  p.  151. 


FIG.  7. — Treinella  mesenlerica. 


26  FUNGI. 

the  basidia  of  the  Tremellini  were  monosporous,  whilst  M. 
Tulasne  has  demonstrated  that  they  are  habitually  tetrasporous, 
as  in  other  of  the  Hymenomycetes.  Although  agreeing  in  this, 
they  differ  in  other  features,  especially  in  the  globose  form  of 
the  basidia,  mode  of  production  of  the  spicules,  and,  finally,  the 
division  of  the  basidia  into  two,  three,  or  four  cells  by  septa 
which  cut  each  other  in  their  axis.  This  division  precedes  the 
growth  of  the  spicules.  It  is  not  rare  to  see  these  cells,  formed 
at  the  expense  of  an  unilocular  basidium,  become  partly  isolated 
from  each  other  ;  in  certain  cases  they  seem  to  have  separated 
very  early,  they  then  become  larger  than  usual,  and  are  grouped 
on  the  same  filament  so  as  to  represent  a  kind  of  buds.  This 
phenomenon  usually  takes  place  below  the  level  of  the  fertile 
cells,  at  a  certain  depth  in  the  mucous  tissue  'of  the  Tremella. 

Besides  the  reproductive  system  here  described,  Tulasne  also 
made  known  the  existence  of  a  series  of  filaments  which  produce 
spermatia.  These  filaments  are  often  scattered  and  confused 
with  those  which  produce  the  basidia,  and  not  distinguishable 
from  them  in  size  or  any  other  apparent  characteristic,  except 
the  manner  in  which  their  extremities  are  branched  in  order  to 
produce  the  spermatia.  At  other  times  the  spermatia-bearing 
surface  covers  exclusively  certain  portions  of  the  fungus,  espe- 
cially the  inferior  lobes,  imparting  thereto  a  very  bright  orange 
colour,  which  is  communicated  by  the  layer  of  spermatia, 
unmixed  with  spores.  These  spots  retain  their  bright  colour, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  plant  becomes  pale,  or  covered  with 
a  white  dust.  The  spermatia  are  very  small,  spherical,  and 
smooth,  scarcely  equalling  *002  mm.  They  are  sessile,  some- 
times solitary,  sometimes  three  or  four  together,  on  the 
slightly  swollen  extremities  of  certain  filaments  of  the  weft  of 
the  fungus.*  Tulasne  found  it  impossible  to  make  these  cor- 
puscles germinate,  and  in  all  essential  particulars  they  agreed 
with  the  spermatia  found  in  ascomycetous  fungi. 

In  the  genus  Dacrymyces,  the  same  observer  found  the  structure 

*  Tulasne,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (loc.  cit.)  xix.  pi.  x.  fig.  29.  Tulasne, 
"  ITew  Notes  upon  Tremellinous  Fungi,"  in  "  Journ.  Linn.  Soc."  vol.  xiii.  (1871), 
p.  31. 


STRUCTURE.  27 

to  have  great  affinity  with  that  of  Tremella.  The  spores  in  the 
species  examined  were  of  ,a  different  form,  being  'oblong,  very 
obtuse,  slightly  curved  ('013—  '019  x  '004  —  -006  mm.),  at  first 
unilocular,  but  afterwards  triseptate.  The  basidia  are  cylin- 
drical or  clavate,  filled  with  coloured  granular  matter ;  each  of 
these  bifurcates  at  the  summit,  and  gradually  elongates  into  two 
very  open  branches,  which  are  attenuated  above,  and  ultimately 
each  is  crowned  by  a  spore.  There  are  to  be  found  also  in  the 
species  of  this  genus  globose  bodies,  designated  "  sporidioles  " 
by  M.  Leveille,  which  Tulasne  took  considerable  care  to  trace  to 
their  source.  He  thus  accounts  for  them : — Each  of  the  cells  of 
the  spore  emits  exteriorly  one  or  several  of  these  corpuscles, 
supported  on  very  short  and  very  slender  pedicels,  which  remain 
after  the  corpuscles  are  detached  from  them,  new  corpuscles 
succeeding  the  first  as  long  as  there  remains  any  plastic  matter 
within  the  spore.  The  pedicels  are  not  all  on  the  same  plane ; 
they  are.  often  implanted  all  on  the  same,  and  oftenest  on  the 
convex  side  of  the  reproductive  body.  These  corpuscles,  though 
placed  under  the  most  favourable  conditions,  never  gave  the 
least  sign  of  vegetation,  and  Tulasne  concludes  that  they  are 
spermatia,  analogous  to  those  produced  in  Tremella.  The  spores 
which  produce  spermatia  are  not  at  all  apt  to  germinate,  whilst 
those  which  did  not  produce  spermatia  germinated  freely.  Hence 
it  would  appear  that,  although  all  spores  seem  to  be  perfectly  iden- 
tical, they  have  not  all  the  same  function.  The  same  observer 
detected  also  amongst  specimens  of  the  Dacrymyces  some  of  a 
darker  and  reddish  tint,  always  bare  of  spores  or  spermatia  on 
the  surface,  and  these  presented  a  somewhat  different  structure. 
Where  the  tissue  had  turned  red  it  was  sterile,  the  constituent 
filaments,  ordinarily  colourless,  and  almost  empty  of  solid  matter, 
were  filled  with  a  highly-coloured  protoplasm ;  they  were  of  less 
tenuity,  more  irregularly  thick,  and  instead  of  only  rarely  pre- 
senting partitions,  and  remaining  continuous,  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  plant,  were  parcelled  out  into  an  infinity  of  straight  or 
curved  pieces,  angular  and  of  irregular  form,  especially  towards 
the  surface  of  the  fungus,  where  they  compose  a  sort  of  pulp, 
varying  in  cohesion  according  to  the  dry  or  moist  condition  of 


28  FUNGI. 

the  atmosphere.  All  parts  of  these  reddish  individuals  seemed 
more  or  less  infected  with  this  disintegration,  the  basidia  divided 
by  transverse  diaphragms  into  several  cylindrical  or  oblong 
pieces,  which  finally  become  free.  Transitional  conditions  were 
also  observed  in  mixed  individuals.  This  sterile  condition  is 
called  by  Tulasne  "  gemmiparous,"  and  he  believes  that  it  has 
ere  now  given  origin  to  one  or  more  spurious  species,  and  misled 
mycologists  as  to  the  real  structure  of  perfect  and  fruitful 
Dacrymyces. 

PHALLOIDEI. — In  this  order  the  hymenium  is  at  first  enclosed 
within  a  sort  of  peridium  or  universal  volva,  maintaining  a 
somewhat  globose  or  egg- shape.  This  envelope  consists  of  an 
outer  and  inner  coat  of  somewhat  similar  texture,  and  an  inter- 
mediate gelatinous  layer,  often  of  considerable  thickness.  When 
a  section  is  made  of  the  fungus,  whilst  still  enclosed  in  the 
volva,  the  hymenium  is  found  to  present  numerous  cavities,  in 
which  basidia  are  developed,  each  surmounted  by  spicwles  (four 
to  six)  bearing  oval  or  oblong  spores.*  It  is 
very  difficult  to  observe  the  structure  of  the  hy- 
menium in  this  order,  on  account  of  its  deliques- 
cent nature.  As  the  hymenium  approaches  ma- 
turity, the  volva  is  ruptured,  and  the  plant  rapidly 
enlarges.  In  Phallus,  a  long  erect  cellular  stem 
bears  the  cap,  over  which  the  hymenium  is 
spread,  and-this  expands  enormously  after  escap- 
lus-  ing  the  restraint  of  the  volva.  Soon  after  expo- 

sure, the  hymenium  deliquesces  into  a  dark  mucilage,  coloured 
by  the  minute  spores,  which  drips  from  the  pileus,  often  diffus- 
ing a  most  loathsome  odour  for  a  considerable  distance.  In 
Clathrus,  the  receptacle  forms  a  kind  of  network.  In  Aseroe, 
the  pileus  is  beautifully  stellate.  In  many  the  attractive  forms 
would  be  considered  objects  of  beauty,  were  it  not  for  their 
deliquescence,  and  often  foetid  odour.f 

*  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "On  the  Fructification  of  Lycoperdon,  Phallus,  &c.,"  in 
"Ann".  Nat.  Hist."  1840,  vol.  iv.  p.  158,  pi.  5.  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "Introduc- 
tion Crypt.  Bot."  p.  346. 

•J-  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "Fungi  Hypogoei."     Paris.     Berkeley  and  Broom e, 


STRUCTURE.  29 

PODAXINEI. — This  is  a  small  but  very  curious  group  of  fungi, 
in  which,  the  peridium  resembles  a  volva,  which  is  more  or  less 
confluent  with  the  surface  of  the  pileus.  They  assume  hymeno- 
mycetal  forms,  some  of  them  looking  like  Agarics,  Boleti,  or 
species  of  Hydnum,  with  deformed  gills,  pores,  or  spines  ;  in 
Montagnites,  in  fact,  the  gill  structure  is  very  distinct.  The 
spores  are  borne  in  definite  clusters  on  short  pedicels  in  such  of 
the  genera  as  have  been  examined.* 

HYPOGCEI. — These  are  subterranean  puff-balls,  in  which  some- 
times a  distinct  peridium  is  present ;  but  in  most  cases  it  consists 
entirely  of  an  external  series  of  cells,  continuous  with  the  in- 
ternal structure, -and  cannot  be  correctly  estimated  as  a  peridium. 
The  hymenium  is  sinuous  and  convolute,  bearing  basidia  with 
sterigmata  and  spores  in  the  cavities.  Sometimes  the  cavities  are 
traversed  by  threads,  as  in  the  Myxogastres.  The  spores  are  in 
many  instances  beautifully  echinulate,  sometimes  globose,  at 
others  elongated,  and  produced  in  such  numbers  as  to  lead  to 
the  belief  that  their  development  is  successive  on  the  spicules. 
When  fully  matured,  the  peridia  are  filled  with  a  dusty  mass 
of  spores,  so  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  in  this  condition  to  gain 
any  notion  of  the  structure.  This  is,  indeed,  the  case  with 
nearly  all  Gasteromycetes.  The  hypogoeous  fungi  are  curiously 
connected  with  Phalloidei  by  the  genus  Hysterangium. 

TRICHOGAS'J  RES.f — In  their  early  stages  the  species  contained  in 
this  group  are  not  gelatinous,  as  in  the  ftlyxoyastres,  but  are  rather 
fleshy  and  firm.  Very  little  has  been  added  to  our  knowledge 
of  structure  in  this  group  since  1839  and  1842,  when  one  of  us 
wrote  to  the  following  effect : — If  a  young  plant  of  Lycoperdcn 
ccelatum  or  L.  gemmatum  be  cut  through  and  examined  with  a 
common  pocket  lens,  it  will  be  found  to  consist  of  a  fleshy  mass, 

"British  Hypogoeous  Fungi,"  in  "Ann.  Nat.  Hist."  1846,  xviii.  p.  74.  Corda, 
"  Icones  Fungorum,"  vol.  vi.  pi.  vii.  via. 

*  Tulasne,  "  Sur  le  Genre  Secotium,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (1845),  3me 
ser.  vol.  iv.  p.  169,  plate  9. 

t  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "De  la  Fructification  des  Scleroderma  comparee  a 
celle  des  Lycoperdon  et  des  Borista,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  1842,  xvii.  p.  5. 
Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "Sur  les  Genres  Polysaccum  et  Geuster,"  in  '  'Ann.  rks 
Sci.  Nat."  1842,  xviii.  p.  129,  pi.  5  and  6. 


30  FUNGI. 

perforated  in  every  direction  with  minute  elongated,  reticulated, 
anastomosing,  labyrinthiform  cavities.  The  resemblance  of  these 
to  the  tubes  of  Boleti  in  an  early  stage  of  growth,  first  led  me  to 
suspect  that  there  must  be  some  very  close  connection  between 
them.  If  a  very  thin  slice  now  be  taken,  while  the  mass  is  yet 
firm,  and  before  there  is  the  slightest  indication  of  a  change  of 
colour,  the  outer  stratum  of  the  walls  of  these  cavities  is  found 
to  consist  of  pellucid  obtuse  cells,  placed  parallel  to  each  other 
like  the  pile  of  velvet,  exactly  as  in  the  young  hymenium  of  an 
Agaric  or  Boletus.  Occasionally  one  or  two  filaments  cross  from 
one  wall  to  another,  and  once  I  have  seen  these  anastomose. 
At  a  more  advanced  stage  of  growth,  four  little  spicules  are 
developed  at  the  tips  of  the  sporo- 
phores,  all  of  which,  as  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  observe,  are  fertile  and  of 
equal  height,  and  on  each  of  these 
spicules  a  globose  spore  is  seated.  It 
is  clear  that  we.  have  here  a  structure 
identical  with  that  of  the  true  Hy- 
men omycetes,  a  circumstance  which 
accords  well  with  the  fleshy  habit  and 
mode  of  growth.  There  is  some  diffi- 
culty in  ascertaining  the  exact  struc- 

FIG.  9.-Basidia  and  spores    ture    of  the  species  just   noticed,   as 
the  fruit-bearing  cells,  or  sporophores, 

are  very  small,  and  when  the  spicules  are  developed  the  substance 
becomes  so  flaccid  that  it  is  difficult  to  cut  a  proper  slice,  even 
with  the  sharpest  lancet.  I  have,  however,  satisfied  myself  as 
to  the  true  structure  by  repeated  observations.  But  should  any 
difficulty  arise  in  verifying  it  in  the  species  in  question,  there 
will  be  none  in  doing  so  in  Lycoperdon  giganteum.  In  this 
species  the  fructifying  mass  consists  of  the  same  sinuous  cavities, 
which  are,  however,  smaller,  so  that  the  substance  is  more  com- 
pact, and  I  have  not  seen  them  traversed  by  any  filaments.  In 
an  early  stage  of  growth,  the  surface  of  the  hymenium,  that  is  of 
the  walls  of  the  cavities,  consists  of  short  threads  composed  of 
two  or  three  articulations,  which  are  slightly  constricted  at  the 


STRUCTURE.  31 

joints,  from  which,  especially  from  the  last,  spring  short  branch- 
lets,  often  consisting  of  a  single  cell.  Sometimes  two  or  more 
branchlets  spring  from  the  same  point.  Occasionally  the  threads 
are  constricted  without  any  dissepiments,  the  terminal  articula- 
tions are  obtuse,  and  soon  swell  very  much,  so  as  greatly  to 
exceed  in  diameter  those  on  which  they  are  seated.  When  arrived 
at  their  full  growth,  they  are  somewhat  obovate,  and  produce 
four  spicules,  which  at  length  are  surmounted  each  with  a  glo- 
bose spore.  When  the  spores  are  fully  developed,  the  sporophores 
wither,  and  if  a  solution  of  iodine  be  applied,  which  changes 
the  spores  to  a  rich  brown,  they  will  be  seen  still  adhering  by 
their  spicules  to  the  faded  sporophores.  The  spores  soon 
become  free,  but  the  spicule  often  still  adheres  to  them ; ' 
but  they  are  not  attached  to  the  intermingled  filaments. 
In  Bovisfa  plumbea,  the  spores  have  very  long  peduncles.*  As 
in  the  Hymenomycetes,  the  prevailing  type  of  reproductive  organs 
consisted  of  quaternary  spores  borne  on  spicules  ;  so  in  Gastero- 
mycetes,  the  prevailing  type,  in  so  far  as  it  is  yet  known,  is  very 
similar,  in  some  cases  nearly  identical,  consisting  of  a  definite 
number  of  minute  spores  borne  on  spicules  seated  on  basidia. 
In  a  very  large  number  of  genera,  the  minute  structure  and 
development  of  the  fructification  (beyond  the  mature  spores) 
is  almost  unknown,  but  from  analogy  it  may  be  concluded  that 
a  method  prevails  in  a  large  group  like  the  Myxogastres  which 
does  not  differ  in  essential  particulars  from  that  which  is  known 
to  exist  in  other  groups.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  studying 
the  development  of  the  spores  in  this  are  far  greater  than  in  the 
previous  order. 

MYXOGASTRES. — At  one  time  that  celebrated  mycologist,  Pro- 
fessor De  Bary,  seemed  disposed  to  exclude  this  group  from  the 
vegetable  kingdom  altogether,  and  relegate  them  to  a  companion- 
ship with  amoeboid  forms.  But  in  more  recent  works  he  seems 
to  have  reconsidered,  and  almost,  if  not  entirely,  abandoned, 
that  disposition.  These  fungi,  mostly  minute,  are  characterized 
in  their  early  stages  by  their  gelatinous  nature.  The  substance 

*  Berkeley,  "On  the  Fructification  of  Lycoperdon,  &c.,"  in  "Annals  of 
Natural  History"  (1840),  iv.  p.  155. 


32 


FUNGI. 


of  which  they  are  then  composed  bears  considerable  resemblance 
to  sarcode,  and,  did  they  never  change  from  this,  there  might  be 
some  excuse  for  doubting  as  to  their  vegetable  nature  ;  but  as  the 
species  proceed  towards  maturity  they  lose  their  mucilaginous 
texture,  and  become  a  mass  of  spores,  intermixed  with  threads, 
surrounded  by  a  cellular  peridium.  Take,  for  instance,  the  genus 
Trichia,  and  we  have  in  the  matured  specimens  a  somewhat 
globose  peridium,  not  larger  than  a  mustard  seed,  and  some- 
times nearly  of  the  same  colour ;  this  ultimately  ruptures  and 
exposes  a  mass  of  minute  yellow  spherical  spores,  intermixed 
with  threads  of  the  same  colour.*  These  threads,  when  highly 
magnified,  exhibit  in  themselves  a  spiral  arrangement,  which 
•  has  been  the  basis  of  some  controversy,  and  in  some  species 
these  threads  are  externally  spinulose.  The  chief  controversy 


FIG.  10.  — a.  Threads  of  Trichia.     6.  Portion  further  magnified,  with  spores,    c.  Por- 
tion of  spinulose  thread. 

on  these  threads  has  been  whether  the  spiral  markings  are 
external  or  internal,  whether  caused  by  twisting  of  the  thread 
or  by  the  presence  of  an  external  or  internal  fibre.  The  spiral 
appearance  has  never  been  called  in  question,  only  the  structure 
from  whence  it  arises,  and  this,  like  the  stria3  of  diatoms,  is 
very  much  an  open  question.  Mr.  Currey  held  that  the  spiral 


0  Wigand,  ' ' Morphologie  des  Genres  Trichia  et  Arcyria,"  in  "Ann.  des   Sci. 
Nat."  4lne  ser.  xvi.  p.  223. 


STRUCTURE.  33 

appearance  may  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  the  existence 
of  an  accurate  elevation  in  the  wall  of  the  cell,  following  a 
spiral  direction  from  one  end  of  the  thread  to  the  other.  This 
supposition  would,  he  thinks,  accord  well  with  the  optical 
appearances,  and  it  would  account  exactly  for  the  undulations 
of  outline  to  which  he  alludes.  He  states  that  he  had  in 
his  possession  a  thread  of  Trichia  clirysosperma,  in  which  the 
spiral  appearance  was  so  manifestly  caused  by  an  elevation  of 
this  nature,  in  which  it  is  so  clear  that  no  internal  spiral  fibre 
exists,  that  he  did  not  think  there  could  be  a  doubt  in  the  mind 
of  any  person  carefully  examining  it  with  a  power  of  500 
diameters  that  the  cause  of  the  spiral  appearance  was  not  a 
spiral  fibre.  In  Arcyria,  threads  of  a  different  kind  are  present; 


FIG.  ll.—Arcyria  incaruata,  with  portion  of  threads  and  spore,  magnified. 

they  mostly  branch  and  anastomose,  and  are  externally  furnished 
with  prominent  warts  or  spines,  which  Mr.  Currey  *  holds  are 
also  arranged  in  a  spiral  manner  around  the  threads.  In  other 
Myxogastres,  threads  are  also  present  without  any  appreciable 
spiral  markings  or  spines.  In  the  mature  condition  of  these 
fungi,  they  so  clearly  resemble,  and  have  such  close  affinities 
with,  the  Trichogastres  that  one  is  led  almost  to  doubt  whether 
it  was  not  on  hasty  grounds,  without  due  examination  or 
consideration,  that  proposals  were  made  to  remove  them  from 
the  society  of  their  kindred. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  development  of  the  spores  in 
this  group ;  in  the  early  stages  the  whole  substance  is  so  pulpy, 
and  in  the  latter  so  dusty,  whilst  the  transition  from  one  to 

*  Carrey,  "On  Spiral  Threads  of  Trichia,"  in  "Quart.  Journ.  Micr 
Science"  (1855),  iii.  p.  17. 


34  FUNGI. 

the  other  is  so  rapid,  that  the  relation  between  the  spores  and 
threads,  and  their  mode  of  attachment,  has  never  been  definitely 
made  out.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  spiimlose  projections 
from  the  capillitium  in  some  species  are  the  remains 
of  pedicels  from  which  the  spores  have  fallen,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  beyond  this  supposition  in  its 
favour,  whilst  on  the  other  hand,  in  Stemonitis,  for 
instance,  there  is  a  profuse  interlacing  capillitium, 
and  no  spines  have  been  detected.  In  order  to 
strengthen  the  supposition,  spines  should  be  more 
commonly  present.  The  threads,  or  capillitium,  form 
a  beautiful  reticulated  network  in  Stemonitis,  Cribra- 
ria,  Diachcea,  Dictydium,  &c.  In  Spumaria,  fieticu- 
laria,  Lycogala,  &c.,  they  are  almost  obsolete.*  In 
no  group  is  the  examination  of  the  development  of 
structure  more  difficult,  for  the  reasons  already 
alleged,  than  in  the  Myxogastres. 

NIDULARIACEI. — This  small  group  departs  in  some 
FUJ  12  —  Dia-  important  particulars  from  the  general  type  of  struc- 
chaa  elegant,  ture  present  in  the  rest  of  the  Gasteromycetes.f 
The  plants  here  included  may  be  described  under  three  parts, 
the  mycelium,  the  peridium,  and  the  sporangia.  The  mycelium 
is  often  plentiful,  stout,  rigid,  interlacing,  and 
coloured,  running  over  the  surface  of  the  soil,  or 
amongst  the  vegetable  debris  on  which  the  fungi 
establish  themselves.  The  peridia  are  seated  upon 
this  mycelium,  and  in  most  instances  are  at  length 
open  above,  taking  the  form  of  cups,  or  beakers. 
These  organs  consist  of  three  strata  of  tissue  vary., 
ing  in  structure,  the  external  being  fibrous,  and 
sometimes  hairy,  the  interior  cellular  and  delicate,  the  inter- 
mediate thick  and  at  length  tough,  coriaceous,  and  resistant. 

*  In  some  of  the  genera,  as,  for  instance,  in  Badhamia,  Enerthenema,  and 
Iteticularia,  the  spores  are  produced  within  delicate  cells  or  cysts,  which  are 
afterwards  absorbed. 

t  Tulasne,  "  Essai  d'une  Monographic  des  Nidulariees,"  in  "Ann.  des  Scj. 
Nat."  (1844),  i.  41  and  64. 


STRUCTURE. 


35 


When  first  formed,  the  peridia  are  spherical,  they  then,  elongate 
and  expand,  the  mouth  being  for  some  time  closed  by  a  veil, 
or  diaphragm,  which  ultimately  disappears.  Within  the  cups 
lentil-shaped  bodies  are  attached  to  the  base  and  sides  by  elastic 
cords.  These  are  the  sporangia.  Each  of  these  has  a  com- 
plicated structure ;  externally  there  is  a  filamentous  tunic, 
composed  of  interlaced  fibres,  sometimes  called  the  peridiole ; 
beneath  this  is  the  cortex,  of  compact  homogenous  structure, 
then  follows  a  cellular  thicker  stratum,  bearing,  towards  the 
centre  of  the  sporangia,  delicate  branched  threads,  or  sporo- 
phores,  on  which,  at  their  extremities, 
the  ovate  spores  are  generated,  some- 
times in  pairs,  but  normally,  it  would 
seem  that  they  are  quaternary  on  spicules, 
the  threads  being  true  basidia.  The  whole 
structure  is  exceedingly  interesting  and 
peculiar,  and  may  be  studied  in  detail  in 
Tulasne's  memoir  on  this  group. 

SPH^ERONEMEI. — In  this  very  large  and, 
within  certain  limits,  variable  order,  there 
is  but  little  of  interest  as  regards  struc- 
ture, which  is  not  better  illustrated  else- 
where ;  as,  for  instance,  some  sort  of  peri- 
thecium  is  always  present,  but  this  can  phore.  d.  Spores, 
be  better  studied  in  the  Sphcsriacei.  The  spores  are  mostly  very 
minute,  borne  on  delicate  sporophores,  which  originate  from  the 
inner  surface  of  the  perithecia,  but  the  majority  of  so-called 
species  are  undoubtedly  conditions  of  sphssriaceous  fungi,  either 
spermatogonia  or  pycnidia,  and  are  of  much  more  interest 
when  studied  in  connection  with  the  higher  forms  to  which  they 
belong.*  Probably  the  number  of  complete  and  autonomous 
species  are  very  few. 

MELANCONIEI. — Here,  again,  are  associated  together  a  great 
number  of  what  formerly  were  considered  good  species  of  fungi, 
but  which  are  now  known  to  be  but  conditions  of  other  forms. 


FIG.  H.-0>/athus. 
gium.      6.   Section. 


a.  Sporan- 
c.    Sporo- 


*  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "Introduction,  Crypt.  Bot."  p.  330. 


36  FUNGI. 

One  great  point  of  distinction  between  these  and  the  preceding 
is  the  absence  of  any  true  perithecium,  the  spores  being  pro- 
duced in  a  kind  of  spurious  receptacle,  or  from  a  sort  of  stroma. 
The  spores  are,  as  a  rule,  larger  arid  much  more  attractive  than 
in  SpJiceronemei,  and,  in  some  instances,  are  either  very  fine,  or 
very  curious.  Under  this  head  we  may  mention  the  multi- 
septate  spores  of  Coryneum;  the  tri-radiate  spores  of  A.stero- 
sporium ;  the  curious  crested  spores  of 
Pestalozzia;  the  doubly  crested  spores  of 
Dilopliospora ;  and  the  scarcely  less  sin- 
gular gelatinous  coated  spores  of  Cheiro- 
spora.  In  all  cases  the  fructification  is 
abundant,  and  the  spores  frequently  ooze 
out  in  tendrils,  or  form  a  black  mass 
above  the  spurious  receptacle  from  which 
they  issue.* 

is.—Asterosponum  Hoff-        ToKULACEi. — In  this  order  there  seems 
at  first  to  be  a  considerable  resemblance 

to  the  Dematiei,  except  that  the  threads  are  almost  obsolete,  and 
the  plant  is  reduced  to  chains  of  spores,  without  trace  of  perithe- 
cium, investing  cuticle,  or  definite  stroma.  Sometimes  the  spores 
are  simple,  in  other  cases  septate,  and  in  Sporochisma  are  at  first 
produced  in  an  investing  cell.  In  most  cases  simple  threads 
at  length  become  septate,  and  are  ultimately  differentiated  into 
spores,  which  separate  at  the  joints  when  fully  mature. 

C-EOMACEL — Of  far  greater  interest  are  the  Coniomycetous 
parasites  on  living  plants.  The  present  order  includes  those  in 
which  the  spore  t  is  reduced  to  a  single  cell ;  and  here  we  may 
observe  that,  although  many  of  them  are  now  proved  to  be 
imperfect  in  themselves,  and  only  forms  or  conditions  of  other 
fungals,  we  shall  write  of  them  here  without  regard  to  their 
duality.  These  originate,  for  the  most  part,  within  the  tissues 
of  living  plants,  and  are  developed  outwards  in  pustules,  which 
burst  through  the  cuticle.  The  mycelium  penetrates  the  iiiter- 

*  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "  Introduction,  Crypt.  Bot."  p.  329. 

f  In  the  Cceomacei  and  Puccinicei  the  term  ' '  pseudospore  '  would  be  much 
more  accurate. 


STRUCTURE.  37 

cellular  passages,  and  may  sometimes  be  found  in  parts  of  the 
plants  where  the  fungus  does  not  develop  itself.  There  is  no 
proper  excipulum  or  peridium,  and  the  spores  spring  direct 
from  a  more  compacted  portion  of  the  mycelium,  or  from  a 
cushion-like  stroma  of  small  cells.  In 
Lecythea,i\ie>  sub-globose  spores  are  t.fc 
first  generated  at  the  tips  of  short 
pedicels,  from  which  they  are  ulti- 
mately separated ;  surrounding  these 
spores  arise  a  series  of  barren  cells, 
or  cysts,  which  are  considerably  larger  FIG.  i6.-Barren  cysts andPseudo- 
than  the  true  spores,  and  colourless, 

while  the  spores  are  of  some  shade  of  yellow  or  orange.*     In 
Trichobasis,  the  spores  are  of  a  similar  character,  sub-globose, 
and  at  first  pedicellate  ;  but  there  are  no  surrounding  cysts,  and 
the  colour  is  more  usually  brown,  al- 
though sometimes  yellow.     In  Uredo, 
the  spores  are  at  first  generated  singly, 
within  a  mother  cell ;  they  are  globose, 
and  either  yellow  or  brown,  without 
any  pedicel.      In  Coleosporium,  there 
are  two  kinds  of   spores,  those  of  a 
pulverulent  nature,  globose,  which  are 
sometimes  produced  alone  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  season,  and  others  FIG.  17.— Coleosporium 
which  originate  as  an  elongated  cell ; 

this   becomes    septate,  and  ultimately  separates  at  the  joints. 
During  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  both  kinds  of  spores  are  to 
be  found  in   the    same   pustule.      In 
Melampsora,    the   winter    spores    are 
elongated    and    wedge-shaped,    com- 
pacted together  closely,  and  are  only 
matured  during  winter  on  dead  leaves :    „ 

FIG.  18.— Melampsora  salicina. 

the   summer   spores   are    pulverulent 

and  globose,  being,  in  fact,  what  were  until  recently  regarded 

*  Le"veille,  "  Sur  la  Disposition  Me"thodique  des  Ure'dine'es,"  in  "Ann.   des 
Sci.  Nat."  (1847),  vol.  viii.  p.  369. 
3 


38 


FUNGI. 


as  species  of  LecytJiea.  In  Cystopus,  the  spores  are  sub-globose, 
or  somewhat  angular,  generated  in  a  moniliform  manner,  and 
afterwards  separating  at  the  joints.  The  upper  spore  is  always 
the  oldest,  continuous  production  of  spores  going  on  for  some 
time  at  the  base  of  the  chain.  Under  favourable 
conditions  of  moisture,  each  of  these  spores,  or 
conidia,  as  De  Bary  terms  them,  is  capable  of 
producing  within  itself  a  number  of  zoospores;  * 
these  ultimately  burst  the  vesicle,  move  about  by 
the  aid  of  vibratile  cilia,  and  at  last  settle  down 
to  germinate.  Besides  these,  other  reproductive 
bodies  are  generated  upon  the  mycelium,  within 
the  tissues  of  the  plant,  in  the  form  of  globose 
oogonia,  or  resting  spores,  which,  when  mature, 
also  enclose  great  numbers  of  zoospores.  Similar 
oogonia  are  produced  amongst  the  Mucedines  in 
the  genus  Peronospora,  to  which  De  Bary  con- 
siders Cystopus  to  be  closely  allied.  At  all  events, 
FIG.  19.— Cystopus  this  is  a  peculiarity  of  structure  and  development 
not  as  yet  met  with  in  any  other  of  the  Cceomacei. 
In  TJromyces  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  Puccinicei ;  in  fact, 
it  is  Puccinia  reduced  to  a  single  cell.  The  form  of  spore  is 
usually  more  angular  and  irregular  than  in  Trichobasis,  and  the 
pedicel  is  permanent.  It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  of  the 
foregoing  genera,  many  of  the  species  are  not  autonomous  that 
have  hitherto  been  included  amongst  them.  This  is  especially 
true  of  Lecythea,  Trichobasis ^  and,  as  it  now  appears,  of 
Uromyces.^ 

PUCCINLEI. — This  group  differs  from  the  foregoing  chiefly  in 
having  septate  spores.  The  pustules,  or  sori,  break  through 
the  cuticle  in  a  similar  manner,  and  here  also  no  true  peridium 
is  present.  In  JCenodochus,  the  highest  development  of  joints 
is  reached,  each  spore  being  composed  of  an  indefinite  number, 
from  ten  to  twenty  cells.  With  it  is  associated  an  unicellular 

*  De  Bary,  "Champignons  Parasites,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4meser.  vol.  xx. 
t  Tulasne,  "MemoiresurlesUredine'es,  &c.,"  in"  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (1854), 
vol.  ii.  p.  78. 


STRUCTURE. 


39 


yellow  Uredine,  of  which  it  is  a  condition.  Probably,  in  every 
species  of  the  Puccinicei,  it  may  hereafter  be  proved,  as  it  is 
now  suspected,  that  an  unicellular  Uredine 
precedes  or  is  associated  with  it,  forming 
a  condition,  or  secondary  form  of  fruit 
of  that  species.  Many  instances  of  that 
kind  have  already  been  traced  by  De  Bary,* 
Tulasiie,  and  others,  and  some  have  been  a 
little  too  rashly  surmised  by  their  followers. 
In  Phragmidium,  the  pedicel  is  much  more 
elongated  than  in  Xenodochus,  and  the  spore 
is  shorter,  with  fewer  and  a  more  definite 
number  of  cells  for  each  species  ;  Mr.  Currey 
is  of  opinion  that  each  cell  of  the  spore  in 
Phragmidium  has  an  inner  globose  cell,  FJG.  20.— Xenodochus  «ar 
which  he  caused  to  escape  by  rupture  of  the  bonanu*. 

outer  cell  wall  as  a  spheroid  nucleus,f  leading  to  the  inference 
that  each  cell  has  its  own  individual  power  of  germination  and 
reproduction.  In  Triphragmium,  there  are 
three  cells  for  each  spore,  two  being  placed 
side  by  side,  and  one  superimposed.  In  one 
species,  however,  Triphragmium  deglubens 
(North  American),  the  cells  are  arranged  as 
in  Phragmidium,  so  that  this  represents  really 
a  tricellular  Phragmidium,  linking  the  pre- 
sent with  the  latter  genus.  In  Pucdnia 
the  number  of  species  is  by  far  the  most 
numerous  ;  in  this  genus  the  spores  are  uni- 
septate,  and,  as  in  all  the  Puccinitei,  the 
peduncles  are  permanent.  There  is  great 
variability  in  the  compactness  of  the  spores 
in  the  sori,  or  pulvinules.  In  some  species, 
the  sori  are  so  pulverulent  that  the  spores 
are  as  readily  dispersed  as  in  the  Uredines, 
in  others  they  are  so  compact  as  to  be  separated  from  each 

*  De  Bary,  "  Ueber  die  Brandpilze,"  Berlin,  1853. 

t  Currey,  in  "  Quart.  Journ.  Micr.  Sci."  (1857),  vol.  v.  p.  119,  pi.  8,  fig   13. 


FIG.  21.— Phragmidium 
bulbosum. 


40  FUNGI. 

other  with  great  difficulty.     As  might  be  anticipated,  this  has 
considerable  effect  on  the  contour  of  the  spores,  which  in  pul- 
verulent species  are   shorter,  broader,  and  more  ovate  than  in 
the  compact  species.     If  a  section  of  one  of 
the  more  compact  sori  be  made,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  majority  of  the  spores  are  side 
by  side,  nearly  at  the  same  level,  their  apices 
forming  the  external  surface  of  the  sori,  but 
it  will  not  be  unusual  to  observe  smaller 
and  younger  spores  pushing  up  from  the 
FIG.  22.—  Pseudospores    hymenial    cells,  between  the   peduncles  of 
the  elder  spores,  leading  to  the  inference 

that  there  is  a  succession  of  spores  produced  in  the  same  pulvi- 
nule.  In  Podisoma,  a  rather  anomalous  genus,  the  septate  spores 
are  immersed  in  a  gelatinous  stratum,  and  some  authors  have 
imagined  that  they  have  an  affinity  with  the  Tremellini,  but 
this  affinity  is  more  apparent  than  real.  The  phenomena  of 
germination,  and  their  relations  to  Boestelia,  if  substantiated, 
establish  their  claim  to  a  position  amongst  the  Puccinicsi.*  It 
seems  to  us  that  Gymnosporangium  does  not  differ  generically 
from  Podisoma.  In  a  recently-characterized  species,  Podisoma 
Ellisii,  the  spores  are  bi-triseptate.  This  is,  moreover,  peculiar 
from  the  great  deficiency  in  the  gelatinous  element.  In  another 
North  American  species,  called  Gymnosporangium  liseptatum, 
Ellis,  which  is  distinctly  gelatinous,  there  are  similar  biseptate 
spores,  but  they  are  considerably  broader  and  more  obtuse.  In 
other  described  species  they  are  uniseptate. 

USTILAGINEI. — These  fungi  are  now  usually  treated  as  distinct 
from  the  Cteomacei,  to  which  they  are  closely  related. f  They 
are  also  parasitic  on  growing  plants,  but  the  spores  are  usually 
black  or  sooty,  and  never  yellow  or  orange  ;  on  an  average  much 
smaller  than  in  the  Cceomacei.  In  Tilletia,  the  spores  are 
spherical  and  reticulated,  mixed  with  delicate  threads,  from 

*  Cooke,  "On  Podisoma,"  in  "Journal  of  Quekett  Microscopical  Club,"  vol.  ii. 
p.  255. 

t  Tulasne,  "  M^moire  sur  les  Ustilagin&s,"  in  "  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (1847), 
vii.  pp.  12  and  73. 


STRUCTURE.  41 

whence  they  spring.  In  the  best  known  species,  Tilletia  caries, 
they  constitute  the  "  bunt "  of  wheat.  The  peculiarities  of 
germination  will  be  alluded  to  hereafter.  In  ITstilago,  the 
minute  sooty  spores  are  developed  either  on  delicate  threads 
or  in  compacted  cells,  arising  first  from  a  sort  of  semi-gelati- 
nous, grumous  stroma.  It  is  very  difficult  to  detect  any  threads 
associated  with  the  spores.  The  species  attack  the  flowers  and 
anthers  of  composite  and  polygonaceous  plants,  the  leaves, 
culms,  and  germen  of  grasses,  &c.,  and  are  popularly  known  as 
"  smuts."  In  Urocystis  and  Thecaphora,  the  spores  are  united 
together  into  sub-globose  bodies,  form- 
ing a  kind  of  compound  spore.  In 
some  species  of  Urocystis^  the  union 
which  subsists  between  them  is  com- 
paratively slight.  In  Tkecaphora,  on 
the  contrary,  the  complex  spore,  or 
agglomeration  of  spores,  is  compact,  FlG-  ^.-Thecaphora  hyaiina. 
being  at  first  apparently  enclosed  in  a  delicate  cyst.  In  Tubur- 
cinia,  the  minute  cells  are  compacted  into  a  hollow  sphere, 
having  lacunas  communicating  with  the  interior,  and  often  exhi- 
biting the  remains  of  a  pedicel. 

^ECIDIACEI. — This  group  differs  from  the  foregoing  three 
groups  prominently  in  the  presence  of  a  cellular  peridium,  which 
encloses  the  spores  ;  hence  some  raycologists  have  not  hesitated 
to  propose  their  association  with  the 
Gasteromycetes,  although  every  other 
feature  in  their  structure  seems  to 
indicate  a  close  affinity  with  the 
Cceomacei.  The  pretty  cups  in  the 

genus  JEttidium  are  sometimes  scat- ^^^.3— 

tered  and  sometimes  collected  in  clus-  FlG-  24.- 
ters,  either  with  spermogonia  in  the  centre  or  on  the  opposite 
surface.  The  cups  are  usually  white,  composed  of  regularly 
arranged  bordered  cells  at  length  bursting  at  the  apex,  with  the 
margins  turned  back  and  split  into  radiating  teeth.  The  spores 
are  commonly  of  a  bright  orange  or  golden  yellow,  sometimes 
white  or  brownish,  and  are  produced  in  chains,  or  moniliform 


42  FUNGI. 

strings,  slightly  attached  to  each  other,*  and  breaking  off  at  the 
summit  at  the  same  time  that  they  continue  to  be  produced  at 
the  base,  so  that  for  some  time  there  is  a  successive  production 
of  spores.  The  spermogonia  are  not  always  readily  detected,  as 
they  are  much  smaller  than  the  peridia,  and  sometimes  precede 
them.  The  spermatia  are  expelled  from  the  lacerated  and 
fringed  apices,  and  are  very  minute  and  colourless.  In  Rcestelia 
the  peridia  are  large,  growing  in  company,  and  splitting  longi- 
tudinally in  many  cases,  or  by  a  lacerated  mouth.  In  most  in- 
stances, the  spores  are  brownish,  but  in  a  splendid  species  from 
North  America  (ItGBftelia  aurantiaca,  Peck),  recently  charac- 
terized, they  are  of  a  bright  orange.  If  CBrsted  is  correct  in 
his  observations,  which  await  confirmation,  these  species  are  all 
related  to  species  of  Podisoma  as  a  secondary  form  of  fruit.f 
In  the  Rwstelia  of  the  pear-tree,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  moun- 
tain ash,  the  spermogonia  will  be  found  either  in  separate  tufts 
on  discoloured  spots,  or  associated  with  the  Rcestelia.  In  Peri- 
dermium  there  is  very  little  structural  difference  from  Hoestelia, 
and  the  species  are  all  found  on  coniferous  trees.  In  Endo- 
phyllum,  the  peridia  are  immersed  in  the  succulent  substance  of 
the  matrix  ;  whilst  in  GrapJiiola,  there  is  a  tougher  and  withal 
double  peridium,  the  inner  of  which  form  a  tuft  of  erect  threads 
resembling  a  small  brush. £ 

HYPHOMYCETES. — The  predominant  feature  in  the  structure  of 
this  order  has  already  been  intimated  to  consist  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  vegetative  system  under  the  form  of  simple  or 
branched  threads,  on  which  the  fruit  is  generated.  The  common 
name  of  mould  is  applied  to  them  perhaps  more  generally  than 
to  other  groups,  although  the  term  is  too  vague,  and  has  been 
too  vaguely  applied  to  be  of  much  service  in  giving  an  idea  of 
the  characteristics  of  this  order.  Leaving  the  smaller  groups, 
and  confining  ourselves  to  the  Dematiei  and  the  Mucedines,  we 

*  Corda,  "  Icones  Fungorum,"  vol.  iii.  fig.  45. 

+  Cooke,  "  On  Podisoma/'  in  "  Quekett  Journal,"  vol.  ii.  p.  255. 

|  It  may  be  a  question  whether  Graphiola  is  not  more  nearly  allied  to 
Trickocoma  (Jungh  Fl.  Crypt.  Javse,  p.  10,  f.  7)  than  to  the  genera  with  which 
it  is  usually  associated. — M.  J.  B. 


STRUCTURE. 


43 


shall  obtain  some  notion  of  the  prevalent  structure.  In  the 
former  the  threads  are  more  or  less  carbonized,  in  the  latter 
nearly  colourless.  One  of  the  largest  genera  in  Dematiei  is 
Helminthosporium.  It  appears  on  decaying  herbaceous  plants, 
and  on  old  wood,  forming  effused  black  velvety  patches.  The 
mycelium,  of  coloured  jointed  threads,  overlays  and  penetrates  the 
matrix  ;  from  this  arise  erect,  rigid,  and  usually  jointed  threads, 
of  a  dark  brown,  nearly  black  colour 
at  the  base,  but  paler  towards  the 
apex.  In  most  cases  these  threads 
have  an  externally  cortical  layer, 
which  imparts  rigidity ;  usually  from 
the  apex,  but  sometimes  laterally,  the 
spores  are  produced.  Although  some- 
times colourless,  these  are  most  com- 
monly of  some  shade  of  brown,  more 
or  less  elongated,  and  divided  trans- 
versely by  few  or  many  septa.  In 
Helminthosporium  Smithii,  the  spores 
much  exceed  the  dimensions  of  the 
threads  ;  *  in  other  species  they  are 
smaller.  In  Dendryphium,  the  threads 
and  spores  are  very  similar,  except  *& 
that  the  threads  are  branched  at  their 
apex,  and  the  spores  are  often  pro- 
duced one  at  the  end  of  another  in  a 
short  chain. t  In  Septosporium  again, 
the  threads  and  spores  are  similar,  but 
the  spores  are  pedicellate,  and  at-  „ 

FIG,  25.—He?minthogporium  molle. 

tached  at  or  near  the  base ;  whilst  in 

Acrothecium,  with  similar  threads  and  spores,  the  latter  are 
clustered  together  at  the  apex  of  the  threads.  In  Triposporium, 
the  threads  are  similar,  but  the  spores  are  tri-radiate  ;  and  in 
Helicoma,  the  spores  are  twisted  spirally.  Thus,  we  might  pass 

*  Cooke,  "  On  Microscopic  Moulds,"  in  "  Quekett  Journal,"  vol.  ii.  plate  7. 
f  See  "  Dendryphiura  Fumosum,"  in  "  Quekett  Journal,"  vol.  ii.  plate  8;  or, 
"  Corda  Prachtflora,"  plate  22. 


R  I  SMI 
J/Jill 

^wW&K$*r*'r* 


44 


FUNGI. 


through  all  the  genera  to  illustrate  this  chief  feature  of  coloured, 
septate,  rather  rigid,  and  mostly  erect  threads,  bearing  at  some 

point  spores,  which  in  most  in- 
stances are  elongated,  coloured, 
and  septate. 

MUCEDINES. — Here,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  threads,  if  coloured  at 
all,  are  still  delicate,  more  flexuous, 
with  much  thinner  walls,  and  never 
invested  with  an  external  cortical 
layer.  One  of  the  most  important 
and  highly  developed  genera  is 
Peronospora,  the  members  of  which 
FIG.  2b.—Acrothecium  simplex.  are  parasitic  upon  and  destructive 
of  living  vegetables.  It  is  to  this  genus  that  the  mould  of  the 
too  famous  potato  disease  belongs.  Professor  De  Bary  has  done 
more  than  any  other  mycologist  in  the  investigation  and  eluci- 
dation of  this  genus  ;  and  his  mono- 
graph is  a  masterpiece  in  its  way.* 
He  was,  however,  preceded  by  Mr. 
Berkeley,  and  more  especially  by  Dr. 
Montagne,  by  many  years  in  eluci- 
dation of  the  structure  of  the  flocci 
and  conidia  in  a  number  of  species. f 
In  this  genus,  there  is  a  delicate 
mycelium,  which  penetrates  the  in- 
tercellular passages  of  living  plants, 
giving  rise  to  erect  branched 
threads,  which  bear  at  the  tips  of 
their  ultimate  ramuli,  sub-globose, 
ovate,  or  elliptic  spores,  or,  as  De 
Deeply  seated  on  the  mycelium, 


FIG.  27. — Peronospora  Arenarice. 

Bary  terms  them — conidia. 


within    the  substance   of   the  foster  plant,   other  reproductive 
bodies,  called  oogonia,  originate.     These  are  spherical,  more  or 

*  De  Bary," Champignons  Parasites,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4me  ser.  vol.  xx. 
t  Berkeley,  "On  the  Potato  Murrain,"  in  "  Journ.  of  Hort.  Soc.  of  London," 
vol.  i.  (1846),  p.  9. 


STRUCTURE. 


45 


less  warted  and  brownish,  the  contents  of  which  bocome  dif- 
ferentiated into  vivacious  zoospores,  capable,  when  expelled,  of 
moving  in  water  by  the  aid  of  vibratile  cilia.  A  similar  struc- 
ture has  already  been  indicated  in  Cystopus,  otherwise  it  is  rare 
in  fungi,  if  the  Saprolegniei  be  excluded.  In  Botrytis  and  in 
Polyactis,  the  flocci  and  spores  are  similar,  but  the  branches  of 
the  threads  are  shorter  and  more  compact,  and  the  septa  are 
more  common  and  numerous  ;  the  oogonia  also  are  absent.  De 
Bary  has  selected  Polyactis  cinerea,  as  it  occurs  on  dead  vine 
leaves,  to  illustrate  his  views  of  the  dual- 
ism which  he  believes  himself  to  have 
discovered  in  this  species.  "  It  spreads 
its  mycelium  in  the  tissue  which  is  becom- 
ing brown,"  he  writes,  "  and  this  shows 
at  first  essentially  the  same  construc- 
tion and  growth  as  that  of  the  mycelium 
filaments  of  Aspergillus"  On  the  my- 
celium soon  appear,  besides  those  which 
are  spread  over  the  tissue  of  the  leaves, 
strong,  thick,  mostly  fasciculate  branches, 
which  stand  close  to  one  another,  break- 
ing forth  from  the  leaf  and  rising  up  per- 
pendicularly, the  conidia-bearers.  They 
grow  about  1  mm.  long,  divide  them- 
selves, by  successively  rising  partitions, 
into  some  prominent  cylindrical  linked 
cells,  and  then  their  growth  is  ended, 
and  the  upper  cell  produces  near  its 
point  three  to  six  branches  almost  stand- 
ing rectangularly.  Of  these  the  under 
ones  are  the  longest,  and  they  again  shoot  forth  from  under 
their  ends  one  or  more  still  shorter  little  branches.  The 
nearer  they  are  to  the  top,  the  shorter  are  the  branches,  and 
less  divided  ;  the  upper  ones  are  quite  branchless,  and  their 
length  scarcely  exceeds  the  breadth  of  the  principal  stem.  Thus 
a  system  of  branches  appears,  upon  which,  on  a  small  scale,  a 
bunch  of  grapes  is  represented.  All  the  twigs  soon  end  their 


j 

FIG.  28.—  Polyactis  cinerea. 
a.  Apex  of  hypha. 


46  FUNGI. 

growth ;  they  all  separate  their  inner  space  from  the  principal 
stem,  by  means  of  a  cross  partition  placed  close  to  it.  All  the 
ends,  and  also  that  of  the  principal  stem,  swell  about  the  same 
time  something  like  a  bladder,  and  on  the  upper  free  half  of 
each  swelling  appear  again,  simultaneously,  several  fine  pro- 
tuberances, close  together,  which  quickly  grow  to  little  oval 
bladders  filled  with  protoplasm,  and  resting  on  their  bearers 
with  a  sub-sessile,  pedicellate,  narrow  basis,  and  which  at  length 
separate  themselves  through  a  partition  as  in  Aspergillus.  The 
detached  cells  are  the  conidia  of  our  fungus  ;  only  one  is  formed 
on  each  stalk.  When  the  formation  is  completed  in  the  whole 
of  the  panicle,  the  little  branches  which  compose  it  are  de- 
prived of  their  protoplasm  in  favour  of  the  conidia ;  it  is  the 
same  with  the  under  end  of  the  principal  stem,  the  limits  of 
which  are  marked  by  a  cross  partition.  The  delicate  wall  of 
these  parts  shrinks  up  until  it  is  unrecognizable  ;  all  the  conidia 
of  the  panicle  approach  one  another  to  form  an  irregular  grape- 
like  bunch,  which  rests  loosely  on  the  bearer,  and  from  which 
it  easily  falls  away  as  dust.  If  they  be  brought  into  water  they 
fall  off  immediately;  only  the  empty,  shrivelled,  delicate  skins 
are  to  be  found  on  the  branch  which  bore  them,  and  the  places 
on  which  they  are  fixed  to  the  principal  stem  clearly  appear  as 
round  circumscribed  hilums,  generally  rather  arched  towards 
the  exterior.  The  development  of  the  main  stem  is  not  ended 
here.  It  remains  solid  and  filled  with  protoplasm  as  far  as  the 
portion  which  forms  the  end  through  its  conidia.  Its  end, 
which  is  to  be  found  among  these  pieces,  becomes  pointed  after 
the  ripening  of  the  first  panicle,  pushes  the  end  of  the  shrivelled 
member  on  one  side,  and  grows  to  the  same  length  as  the 
height  of  one  or  two  panicles,  and  then  remains  still,  to  form  a 
second  panicle  similar  to  the  first.  This  is  later  equally  per- 
foliated  as  the  first,  then  a  third  follows,  and  thus  a  large 
number  of  panicles  are  produced  after  and  over  one  another  on 
the  same  stem.  In  perfect  specimens,  every  perfoliated  panicle 
hangs  loosely  to  its  original  place  on  the  surface  of  the  stem, 
until  by  shaking  or  the  access  of  water  to  it,  it  falls  immediately 
into  the  single  conidia,  or  the  remains  of  branches,  and  the 


STRUCTURE.  47 

already-mentioned  oval  hilums  are  left  behind.  Naturally,  the 
stem  becomes  longer  by  every  perforation ;  in  luxuriant  speci- 
mens the  length  can  reach  that  of  some  lines.  Its  partition  is 
already,  by  the  ripening  of  the  first  panicle  from  the  beginning 
of  its  foundation,  strong  and  brown ;  it  is  only  colourless  at  the 
end  which  is  extending,  and  in  all  new  formations.  During  all 
these  changes  the  filament  remains  either  unbranched,  except 
as  regards  the  transient  panicles,  or  it  sends  out  here  and  there, 
at  the  perfoliated  spots,  especially  from  the  lower  ones,  one 
or  two  strong  branches,  standing  opposite  one  another  and 
resembling  the  principal  stem. 

The  mycelium,  which  grows  so  exuberantly  in  the  leaf,  often 
brings  forth  many  other  productions,  which  are  called  sclerotia, 
and  are,  according  to  their  nature,  a  thick  bulbous  tissue  of 
mycelium  filaments.  Their  formation  begins  with  the  profuse 
ramification  of  the  mycelium  threads  in  some  place  or  other ; 
generally,  but  not  always,  in  the  veins  of  the  leaf;  the  inter- 
twining twigs  form  an  uninterrupted  cavity,  in  which  is  often 
enclosed  the  shrivelling  tissue  of  the  leaf.  The  whole  body 
swells  to  a  greater  thickness  than  that  of  the  leaf,  and  protrudes 
on  the  surface  like  a  thickened  spot.  Its  form  varies  from 
circular  to  fusiform;  its  size  is  also  very  unequal,  ranging 
between  a  few  lines  and  about  half  a  millimetre  in  its  largest 
diameter.  At  first  it  is  colourless,  but  afterwards  its  outer 
layers  of  cells  become  round,  of  a  brown  or  black  colour,  and  it 
is  surrounded  by  a  black  rind,  consisting  of  round  cells,  which 
separate*it  from  the  neighbouring  tissue.  The  tissue  within  the 
rind  remains  colourless  ;  it  is  an  entangled  uninterrupted  tissue 
of  fungus  filaments,  which  gradually  obtain  very  solid,  hard, 
cartilaginous  coats.  The  sclerotium,  which  ripens  as  the  rind 
becomes  black,  loosens  itself  easily  from  the  place  of  its  forma- 
tion, and  remains  preserved  after  the  latter  is  decayed. 

The  sclerotia  are,  here  as  in  many  other  fungi,  biennial 
organs,  designed  to  begin  a  new  vegetation  after  a  state  of 
apparent  quietude,  and  to  send  forth  special  fruit-bearers.  They 
may  in  this  respect  be  compared  to  the  bulbs  and  perennial 
roots  of  under  shrubs.  The  usual  time  for  the  development  of 


48 


FUNGI. 


the  sclerotia  is  late  in  the  autumn,  after  the  fall  of  the  vine 
leaves.  As  long  as  the  frost  does  not  set  in,  new  ones  continu- 
ally spring  up,  and  each  one  attains  to  ripeness  in  a  few  days. 
If  frost  appears,  it  can  lie  dry  a  whole  year,  without  losing 
its  power  of  development.  This  latter  commences  when  the 
sclerotium  is  brought  into  contact  with  damp  ground  during 
the  usual  temperature  of  our  warmer  seasons.  If  this  occur 
soon,  at  the  latest  some  weeks  after  it  is  ripe,  new  vegetation 
grows  very  quickly,  generally  after  a  few  days  ;  in  several  parts 
the  colourless  filaments  of  the  inner  tissue  begin  to  send  out 
clusters  of  strong  branches,  which,  breaking  through  the  black 
rind,  stretch  themselves  up  perpendicularly  towards  the  surface, 
separate  from  one  another,  and  then  take 
all  the  characteristics  of  the  conidia-bearers. 
Many  such  clusters  can  be  produced  on  one 
sclerotium,  so  that  soon  the  greater  part  of 
the  surface  is  covered  by  filamentous  conidia- 
bearers  with  their  panicles.  The  colourless 
tissue  of  the  sclerotium  disappears  in  the 
same  degree  as  the  conidia-bearers  grow, 
and  at  last  the  black  rind  remains  behind 
empty  and  shrivelled.  If  we  bring,  after 
many  months,  for  the  first  time,  the  ripe 
sclerotium,  in  damp  ground,  in  summer  or 
autumn,  after  it  has  ripened,  the  further 
development  takes  place  more  slowly,  and 
in  an  essentiall7  different  form.  It  is  true 
that  from  the  inner  tissue  numerous  fila- 
mentous branches  shoot  forth  at  the  cost  of  this  growing 
fascicle,  and  break  through  the  black  rind,  but  its  filaments 
remain  strongly  bound,  in  an  almost  parallel  situation,  to  a 
cylindrical  cord,  which  for  a  time  lengthens  itself  and  spreads 
out  its  free  end  to  a  flat  plate-like  disc.  This  is  always  formed 
of  strongly  united  threads,  ramifications  of  the  cylindrical  cord. 
On  the  free  upper  surface  of  the  disc,  the  filaments  shoot  forth 
innumerable  branches,  which,  growing  to  the  same  height,  thick 
and  parallel  with  one  another,  cover  the  before-named  disc. 


FIO.  ».-*«• 


ridia. 


STRUCTURE.  49 

Some  remain  narrow  and  cylindrical,  are  very  numerous,  and 
produce  fine  hairs  (paraph yses)  ;  others,  also  very  numerous,  take 
the  form  of  club-like  ampulla  cells,  and  each  one  forms  in  its 
interior  eight  free  swimming  oval  spores.  Those  ampulla  cells 
are  sporidiiferous  asci.  After  the  spores  have  become  ripe,  the 
free  point  of  the  utricle  bursts,  and  the  spores  are  scattered  to  a 
great  distance  by  a  mechanism  which  we  will  not  here  further 
describe.  New  ampullas  push  themselves  between  those  which 
are  ripening  and  withering  ;  a  disc  can,  under  favourable  circum- 
stances, always  form  new  asci  for  weeks  at  a  time.  The  num- 
ber of  the  already  described  utricle-bearers  is  different,  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  sclerotium  ;  smaller  specimens  usually 
produce  only  one,  larger  two  to  four.  The  size  is  regulated 
by  that  of  the  sclerotia,  and  ranges,  in  full-grown  specimens, 
between  one  and  more  millimetres  for  the  length  of  the  stalk, 
and  a  half  to  three  (seldom  more)  millimetres  for  the  breadth  of 
the  disc.*  For  some  time  the  conidia  form,  belonging  to  the 
Mucedines,  has  been  known  as  Botrytis  cinerea  (or  Polyactis 
cinerea).  The  compact  mycelium,  or  sclerotium,  as  an  im- 
perfect fungus,  bore  the  name  of  Sclerotium  echinatum,  whilst  to 
the  perfect  and  cup-like  form  has  been  given  the  name  of  Peziza 
Fuckeliana.  We  have  reproduced  De  Bary's  life-history  of  this 
mould  here,  as  an  illustration  of  structure  in  the  JMucedines,  but 
hereafter  we  shall  have  to  write  of  similar  transformations  when 
treating  of  polymorphism. 

The  form  of  the  threads,  and  the  form  and  disposition  of  the 
spores,  vary  according  to  the  genera  of  which  this  order  is  com- 
posed.    In  Oidium  the  mostly  simple  threads    break  up  into 
joints.     Many  of  the  former  species  are  now  recognized  as  con- 
ditions of  JZrysiphe.     In  Aspergillus,  the  threads  are  simple  and 
erect,  with  a  globose  head,  around  which  are  clustered  chains  of 
simple  spores.     In  Penicillium,  the  lower  portion  of  the  threads  is 
pie,  but  they  are  shortly  branched  at  the  apex,  the  branches 
,,-Deing  terminated  by  necklaces  of  minute  spores.     In  Dactylium, 

*  De  Bary,  "On  Mildew  and  Fermentation,"  p.  25,  reprinted  from  "  German 
Quarterly  Magazine,"  1872;  De  Bary,  ' '  Morphologie  und  Physiologic  der 
Pilze,"  (1866),  201 


50 


FUNGI. 


the  threads  are  branched,  but  the  spores  are  collected  in  clusters 
usually,  and  are  moreover  septate.  In  other  genera  similar 
distinctions  prevail.  These  two  groups  of  black  moulds  and 
white  moulds  are  the  noblest,  and  contain 
the  largest  number  of  genera  and  species 
amongst  the  Hyphomycetes.  There  is,  how- 
ever, the  small  group  of  Isariacei,  in  which 
the  threads  are  compacted,  and  a  semblance 
of  such  hymenomycetal  forms  as  Glavaria 
and  Pterula  is  the  result,  but  it  is  doubtful 
if  this  group  contains  many  autonomous 
species.  In  another  small  group,  the  Stil- 
bacei,  there  is  a  composite  character  in  the 
head,  or  receptacle,*  and  in  the  stem  when 
the  latter  is  present.  Many  of  these,  again, 
as  Tubercularia,  Volutella^  Fusarium,  &c., 
contain  doubtful  species.  In  Sepedoniei  and 
FIG.  w-Peniciiiium  char-  Triclwdermacei,  the  threads  are  reduced  to  a 

tarum,  Cooke.  .    . 

minimum,  and  the  spores  are  such  a  dis- 
tinctive element  that  through  these  groups  the  Hyphomycetes 
are  linked  with  the  Coniomycetes.  These  groups,  however,  are  not 
of  sufficient  size  or  importance  to  demand  from  us,  in  a  work  of 
this  character,  anything  more  than  the  passing  allusion  which 
we  have  given  to  them. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  structure  in  the  Sporidiifera,  in 
which  the  fructifying  corpuscles  or  germs,  whether  called  spores 
or  sporidia,  are  generated  within  certain  privileged  cysts,  usually 
in  definite  numbers.  In  systematic  works,  these  are  included 
under  two  orders,  the  Physomycetes  and  the  Ascomycetes.  The 
former  of  these  consists  of  cyst-bearing  moulds,  and  from  their 
nearest  affinity  to  the  foregoing  will  occupy  the  first  place. 

PHYSOMYCETES  include,  especially  amongst  the  Mucorini,  many 
most  interesting  and  instructive  species  for  study,  which  even 
very  lately  have  occupied  the  attention  of  continental  mycolo- 
gists.  Most  of  these  phenomena  are  associated  more  or  less 
with  reproduction,  and  as  such  will  have  to  be  adverted  to  again, 
*  Cooke,  "Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  vol.  ii.  p.  552. 


STRUCTURE. 


51 


but  there  are  points  in  the  structure  which  can  best  be  alluded 
to  here.  Again  taking  Professor  de  Bary's  researches  as  our 
guide,*  we  will  illustrate  this  by  the  common  Mucor  imtcedo: 
If  we  bring  quite  fresh  horse-dung  into  a  damp  confined 
atmosphere,  for  example,  under  a  bell-glass,  there  appears  on  its 
surface,  after  a  few  days,  an  immense  white  mildew.  Upright 
strong  filaments  of  the  breadth  of  a  hair  raise  themselves  over 
the  surface,  each  of  them  soon  shows  at  its  point  a  round  little 
head,  which  gradually  becomes  black,  and  a  closer  examination 
shows  us  that  in  all  principal  points  it  perfectly  agrees  with 
the  sporangia  of  other  species. 
Each  of  these  white  filaments 
is  a  sporangia-bearer.  They 
spring  from  a  mycelium  which 
is  spread  in  the  dung,  and 
appear  singly  upon  it.  Cer- 
tain peculiarities  in  the  form 
of  the  sporangium,  and  the 


little  long  cylindrical  spores, 
which,  when  examined  sepa- 
rately, are  quite  flat  and  co- 
lourless, are  characteristic  of 
the  species.  If  the  latter  be 
sown  in  a  suitable  medium, 
for  example,  in  a  solution  of 

FIG.  31.— Mucor  mucedo,  with  three  sporangia. 
SUgar,    they  Swell,  and   Shoot  a.  Portion  of  frill  with  sporangiola. 

forth  germinating  utricles,  which  quickly  grow  to  mycelia,  which 
bear  sporangia.  This  is  easily  produced  on  the  most  various 
organic  bodies,  and  Mucor  mucedo  is  therefore  found  sponta- 
neously on  every  substratum  which  is  capable  of  nourishing 
mildew,  but  on  the  above-named  the  most  perfect  and  exuberant 
specimens  are  generally  to  be  found.  The  sporangia-bearers 
are  at  first  always  branchless  and  without  partitions.  After 
the  sporangium  is  ripe,  cross  partitions  in  irregular  order  and 
number  often  appear  in  the  inner  space,  and  on  the  upper 

*  De  Bary,  "On  Mildew  and  Fermentation,"  in  "Quarterly  German  Magazine," 
or  1872. 


52  FUNGI. 

surface  branches  of  different  number  and  size,  each  of  which 
forms  a  sporangium  at  its  point.  The  sporangia  which  are 
formed  later  are  often  very  similar,  but  sometimes  very  different, 
to  those  which  first  appeared,  because  their  partition  is  very 
thick  and  does  not  fall  to  pieces  when  it  is  ripe,  but  irregu- 
larly breaks  off,  or  remains  entire,  enclosing  the  spores,  and  at 
last  falls  to  the  ground,  when  the  fungus  withers.  The  cross 
partition  which  separates  the  sporangia  from  its  bearers  is  in 
those  which  are  first  formed  (which  are  always  relatively  thicker 
sporangia)  very  strongly  convex,  while  those  which  follow  later 
are  often  smaller,  and  in  little  weak  specimens  much  less  arched, 
and  sometimes  quite  straight.  After  a  few  days,  similar  filaments 
generally  show  themselves  on  the  dung  between  the  sporangia- 
bearers,  which  appear  to  the  naked  eye  to  be  provided  with  deli- 
cate white  frills.  Where  such  an  one  is  to  be  found,  two  to  four 
rectangular  expanding  little  branches  spring  up  to  the  same 
height  round  the  filament.  Each  of  these,  after  a  short  and 
simple  process,  branch  out  into  a  furcated  form ;  the  furcations 
being  made  in  such  a  manner  that  the  ends  of  the  branch  at  last 
so  stand  together  that  their  surface  forms  a  ball.  Finally,  each 
of  the  ends  of  a  branch  swells  to  a  little  round  sporangium, 
which  is  limited  by  a  partition  (called  sporaugiolum,  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  larger  ones),  in  which  some,  generally  four, 
spores  are  formed  in  the  manner  already  known.  When  the 
sporangiola  are  alone,  they  have  such  a  peculiar  appearance,  with 
their  richly-branched  bearers,  that  they  can  be  taken  for  some- 
thing quite  different  to  the  organs  of  the  Mucor  mucedo,  and 
were  formerly  not  considered  to  belong  to  it.  That  they  really 
belong  to  the  Mucor  is  shown  by  the  principal  filament  which  it 
bears,  not  always,  but  very  often,  ending  with  a  large  sporan- 
gium, which  is  characteristic  of  the  Mucor  mucedo ;  it  is  still 
more  evident  if  we  sow  the  spores  of  the  sporangiolum,  for,  as 
it  germinates,  a  mycelium  is  developed,  which,  near  a  simple 
bearer,  can  form  large  sporangia,  and  those  form  sporangiola, 
the  first  always  considerably  preponderating  in  number,  and 
very  often  exclusively.  If  we  examine  a  large  number  of  speci- 
mens, we  find  every  possible  middle  form  between  the  simple 


STRUCTURE.  53 

or  less  branched  sporangia-bearers  and  he  typical  sporangiola 
frills ;  and  we  arrive  at  last  at  the  conclusion  simply  to  place  the 
latter  among  the  varieties  of  form  which  the  sporangia-bearer 
of  the  Mucor  mucedo  shows,  like  every  other  typical  organic 
form  within  certain  limits.  On  the  other  hand,  propagation 
organs,  differing  from  those  of  the  sporangia  and  their  products, 
belong  to  Mucor  mucedo,  which  may  be  termed  conidia.  On 
the  dung  (they  are  rare  on  any  other  substance)  these  appear  at 
the  same  time,  or  generally  somewhat  later,  than  the  sporangia- 
bearers,  and  are  not  unlike  those  to  the  naked  eye.  In  a  more 
accurate  examination,  they  appear  different ;  a  thicker,  partition- 
less  filament  rises  up  and  divides  itself,  generally  three-forked,  at 
the  length  of  one  millimetre,  into  several  series  of  branchlets. 
The  forked  branches  of  the  last  series  bear  under  their  points, 
which  are  mostly  capillary,  short  erect 
little  ramuli,  and  these,  with  which 
the  ends  of  the  principal  branches  ar- 
ticulate on  their  somewhat  broad  tops, 
several  spores  and  conidia,  near  one 
another;  about  fifteen  to  twenty  are 
formed  at  the  end  of  each  little  ra- 
mulus.  The  peculiarities  and  varia- 
tions which  SO  often  appear  in  the  Fio.  32.— Small  portion  of  Sotrytis 

ramification    need    not   be   discussed 

here.  After  the  articulation  of  the  conidia,  their  bearers  sink 
together  by  degrees,  and  are  quite  destroyed.  The  ripe  conidia 
are  round  like  a  ball,  their  surface  is  scarcely  coloured,  and  almost 
wholly  smooth.  These  conidioid  forms  were  at  first  described 
as  a  separate  species  under  the  name  of  Botrytis  Jonesii.  How, 
then,  do  they  belong  to  the  Mucor  ?  *  That  they  appear  grega- 
riously is  as  little  proof  of  an  original  relation  to  one  another, 
here  as  elsewhere.  Attempts  to  prove  that  the  conidia  and  spo- 
rangia-bearers originate  on  one  and  the  same  mycelium  filament 
may  possibly  hereafter  succeed.  Till  now  this  has  not  been  the  case, 

*  We  are  quite  aware  that  Von  Tieghem  and  Le  Monnier,  in  "  Ann.  des  Sci. 
Nat."  1873,  p.  335,  dispute  that  this  belongs  to  Mwor  mucedo,  and  assert  that 
Chcetocladium  Jonesii  is  itself  a  true  Mucor,  with  monosporous  sporangia. 


54  FUNGI. 

and  lie  who  has  ever  tried  to  disentangle  the  mass  of  filaments 
which  exuberantly  covers  the  substratum  of  a  Mucor  vegetation, 
which  has  reached  so  far  as  to  form  conidia,  will  not  be  surprised 
that  all  attempts  have  hitherto  proved  abortive.  The  suspicion 
of  the  connection  founded  on  the  gregariously  springing  up,  and 
external  resemblance,  is  fully  justified,  if  we  sow  the  conidia  in  a 
suitable  medium,  for  example,  in  a  solution  of  sugar.  They 
here  germinate  and  produce  a  mycelium  which  exactly  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Mucor  mucedo,  and,  above  all,  they  pro- 
duce in  profusion  the  typical  sporangia  of  the  same  on  its 
bearers.  The  latter  are  till  now  alone  reproductions  of  conidia- 
bearers,  and  have  never  been  observed  on  mycelia  which  have 
grown  out  of  conidia. 

These  phenomena  of  development  appear  in  the  Mucor  when 
it  dwells  on  a  damp  substance,  which  must  naturally  contain 
the  necessary  nourishment  for  it,  and  is  exposed  to  the  atmo- 
spheric air.  Its  mycelium  represents  at  first  strong  branched 
utricles  without  partitions ;  the  branches  are  of  the  higher 
order,  mostly  divided  into  rich  and  very  fine-pointed  ramuli. 
In  old  mycelium,  and  also  in  the  sporangia-bearers,  the  contents 
of  which  are  mostly  used  for  the  formation  of  spores,  and 
the  substratum  of  which  is  exhausted  for  our  fungus,  short 
stationary  pieces,  filled  with  protoplasm,  are  very  often  formed 
into  cells  through  partitions  in  order  to  produce  spores,  that 
is,  grow  to  a  new  fruitful  mycelium.  These  cells  are  called 
gemmules,  brooding  cells,  and  resemble  such  vegetable  buds  and 
sprouts  of  foliaceous  plants  which  remain  capable  of  develop- 
ment after  the  organs  of  vegetation  are  dead,  in  order  to  grow, 
under  suitable  circumstances,  to  new  vegetating  plants,  as,  for 
example,  the  bulbs  of  onions,  &c. 

If  we  bring  a  vegetating  mycelium  of  Mucor  mucedo  into  a 
medium  which  contains  the  necessary  nourishment  for  it,  but 
excluded  from  the  free  air,  the  formation  of  sporangia  takes  place 
very  sparingly  or  not  at  all,  but  that  of  gemmules  is  very  abun- 
dant. Single  interstitial  pieces  of  the  ramuli,  or  even  whole 
systems  of  branches,  are  quite  filled  with  a  rich  greasy  proto- 
plasm ;  the  short  pieces  and  ends  are  bound  by  partitions  which 


STRUCTURE.  55 

form  particular,  often  tun-like  or  globular  cells ;  the  longer  ones 
are  changed,  through  the  formation  of  cross  partitions,  into 
chains  of  similar  cells ;  the  latter  often  attain  by  degrees  strong, 
thick  walls,  and  their  greasy  contents  often  pass  into  innumerable 
drops  of  a  very  regular  globular  form  and  of  equal  size.  Similar 
appearances  show  themselves  after  the  sowing  of  spores,  which 
are  capable  of  germinating  in  the  medium  already  described, 
from  which  the  air  is  excluded.  Either  short  germinating 
utricles  shoot  forth,  which  soon  form  themselves  into  rows  of 
gemmules,  or  the  spores  swell  to  large  round  bladders  filled 
with  protoplasm,  and  shoot  forth  on  various  parts  of  their 
surface  innumerable  protuberances,  which,  fixing  themselves 
with  a  narrow  basis,  soon  become  round  vesiculate  cells,  and  on 
which  the  same  sprouts  which  caused  their  production  are  re- 
peated, formations  which  remind  us  of  the  fungus  of  fermenta- 
tion called  globular  yeast.  Among  all  the  known  forms  of 
gemmules  we  find  a  variety  which  are  intermediate,  all  of  which 
show,  when  brought  into  a  normal  condition  of  development, 
the  same  proportion,  and  the  same  germination,  as  those  we  first 
described. 

We  have  detailed  rather  at  length  the  structure  and  develop- 
ment of  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  Mucors,  which  will 
serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  order.  Other  distinctions  there 
may  be  which  are  of  more  interest  as  defining  the  limits  of 
genera,  except  such  as  may  be  noticed  when  we  come  to  write 
more  specially  of  reproduction. 

ASCOMYCETES. — Passing  now  to  the  Ascomycetes,  which  are 
especially  rich  in  genera  and  species,  we  must  first,  and  but  super- 
ficially, allude  to  Tuberacei,  an  order  of  sporidiiferous  fungi  of 
subterranean  habit,  and  rather  peculiar  structure.*  In  this  order 
an  external  stratum  of  cells  forms  a  kind  of  perithecium,  which 
is  more  or  less  developed  in  different  genera.  This  encloses  the 
hymenium,  which  is  sinuous,  contorted,  and  twisted,  often  forming 
lacunae.  The  hymenium  in  some  genera  consists  of  elongated, 
nearly  cylindrical  asci,  enclosing  a  definite  number  of  sporidia; 
in  the  true  truffles  and  their  immediate  allies,  the  asci  are  broad 
*  Vittadini,  "  Monograptria  Tuberacearura, "  1831. 


56  FUNGI. 

sacs,  containing  very  large  and  beautiful,  often  coloured,  sporidia. 
These  latter  have  either  a  smooth,  warted,  spinulose,  or  lacunose 
epispore,  and,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  figures  in  Tulasne's 
Monograph,*  or  those  in  the  last  volume  of  Corda's  great  work,f 
are  attractive  microscopical  objects.  In  some  cases,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  detect  paraphyses,  but  in  others  they  would  seem  to 
be  entirely  absent.  A  comparatively  large  number  have  been 
discovered  and  recorded  in  Great  Britain,!  but  of  these  none 
are  more  suitable  for  study  of  general  structure  than  the  ordi- 
nary truffle  of  the  markets. 

The  structure  of  the  remaining  Ascomycetes  can  be  studied 
under  two  groups,  i.e.,  the  fleshy  Ascomycetes,  or,  as  they  have 
been  termed,  the  Discomycetes,  and  the  hard, or  carbonaceous  Asco- 
mycetes, sometimes  called  the  Pyrenomycetes.  Neither  of  these 
names  gives  an  accurate  idea  of  the  distinctions  between  the  two 
groups,  in  the  former  of  which  the  discoid  form  is  not  universal, 
and  the  latter  contains  somewhat  fleshy  forms.  But  in  the  Dis- 
comycetes the  hymenium  soon  becomes  more  or  less  exposed, 
and  in  the  latter  it  is  enclosed  in  a  perithecium.  The  Discomy- 
cetes are  of  two  kinds,  the  pileate  and  the  cup-shaped.  Of  the 
pileate  such  a  genus  as  G-yromitra  or  Helvella  is,  in  a  certain 
sense,  analogous  to  the  Agarics  amongst  Hymenomycetes,  with  a 
superior  instead  of  an  inferior  hymenium,  and  enclosed,  not 
naked,  spores.  Again,  Geoglossum  is  somewhat  analogous  to 
Clavaria.  Amongst  the  cup-shaped,  Peziza  is  an  Ascomycetous 
Cyphella.  But  these  are  perhaps  more  fanciful  than  real 
analogies. 

Recently  Boudier  has  examined  one  group  of  the  cup-shaped 
Discomycetes,  the  A.scobolei,  and,  by  making  a  somewhat  free  use 
of  his  Memoir,§  we  may  arrive  at  a  general  idea  of  the  struc- 
ture in  the  cupulate  Discomycetes.  They  present  themselves  at 

*  Tulasne,  "  Fungi  Hypogsei,"  1851. 

f  Corda,  "  Icones  Fungorum,"  vol.  vi. 

£  Berkeley  and  Broome,  in  "Ann.  of  Nat.  Hist."  1st  ser.  vol.  xviii.  (1846), 
p.  73  ;  Cooke,  in  "Seem.  Journ.  Bot." 

§  Boudier  (R),  "Memoire  sur  les  Ascoboles,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  5™ 
ser.  vol.  x.  (1869). 


STRUCTURE.  57 

first  under  the  form  of  a  small  rounded  globule,  and  almost 
entirely  cellular.  This  small  globule,  the  commencement 
of  the  receptacle,  is  not  long  in  increasing,  preserving  its 
rounded  form  up  to  the  development  of  the  asci.  At  this 
period,  under  the  influence  of  the  rapid  growth  of  these  organs, 
it  soon  produces  at  its  summit  a  fissure  of  the  external  mem- 
brane, which  becomes  a  more  marked  depression  in  the  mar- 
ginate  species.  The  receptacle  thus  formed  increases  rapidly, 
becomes  plane,  more  convex,  or  more  or  less  undulated  at  the 
margin,  if  at  all  of  large  size.  Fixed  to  the  place  where  it  is 
generated  by  some  more  or  less  abundant  mycelioid  filaments,  the 
receptacle  becomes  somewhat  cup-shaped  and  either  stipitate  or 
sessile,  composed  of  the  receptacle  proper  and  the  hymenium. 

The  receptacle  proper  comprehends  the  subhymenial  tissue, 
the  parenchyma,  and  the  external  membrane.    The  subhymenial 


FIG.  33.— Section  of  cup  of  Ascobolus.    a.  External  cells.    6.  Secondary  layer,    c.  Sub- 
hymenial tissue  (Janczenski). 

tissue  is  composed  of  small  compact  cells,  forming  generally 
a  more  coloured  and  dense  stratum,  the  superior  cells  of  which 
give  rise  to  the  asci  and  paraphyses.  The  parenchyma  is  seated 
beneath  this,  and  is  generally  of  interlaced  filaments,  of  a  looser 
consistency  than  the  preceding,  united  by  intermediate  cellules. 
The  external  membrane,  which  envelopes  the  parenchyma,  and 
limits  the  hymenium,  differs  from  the  preceding  by  the  cells 
often  being  polyhedric,  sometimes  transverse,  and  united  to- 
gether, and  sometimes  separable.  Externally  it  is  sometimes 
smooth,  and  sometimes  granular  or  hairy. 


58  FUNGI. 

The  hymenium  is,  however,  the  most  important  part,  con- 
sisting of  (1)  the  paraphyses,  (2)  the  asci,  and  sometimes  (3) 
an  investing  mucilage.  The  asci  are  always  present,  the  para- 
physes are  sometimes  rare,  and  the  mucilage  in  many  cases 
seems  to  be  entirely  wanting. 

The  paraphyses,  which  are  formed  at  the  first  commencement 
of  the  receptacle,  are  at  first  very  short,  but  soon  elongate,  and 
become  wholly  developed  before  the  appearance  of  the  asci. 
They  are  linear,  sometimes  branched  and  sometimes  simple, 
often  more  or  less  thickened  at  their  tips  ;  almost  always  they 
contain  within  them  some  oleaginous  granules,  either  coloured  or 
colourless.  Their  special  function  seems  still  somewhat  obscure, 
and  Boudier  suggests  that  they  may  be  excitatory  organs  for 
the  dehiscence  of  the  asci.  However  this  may  be,  some  mycolo- 
gists  are  of  opinion  that,  at  least  in  some  of  the  Ascomycetes, 
the  paraphyses  are  abortive  asci,  or,  at  any  rate,  that  abortive 
asci  mixed  with  the  paraphyses  cannot  be  distinguished  from 
them. 

The  mucilage  forms  itself  almost  at  the  same  time  as  the 
paraphyses,  and  previous  to  the  formation  of  the  asci.  This 
substance  appears  as  a  colourless  or  yellowish  mucilage,  which 
envelopes  the  paraphyses  and  asci,  and  so  covers  the  hymeiiium 
with  a  shining  coat. 

The  asci  appear  first  at  the  base  of  the  paraphyses,  under  the 
form  of  oblong  cells,  filled  with  colourless  protoplasm.  By  rapid 
growth,  they  soon  attain  a  considerable  size  and  fulness,  the 
protoplasm  being  gradually  absorbed  by  the  sporidia,  the  first 
indication  of  which  is  always  the  central  nucleus.  The  mucilage 
also  partly  disappears,  and  the  asci,  attaining  their  maturity, 
become  quite  distinct,  each  enclosing  its  sporidia.  But  before 
they  take  their  complete  growth  they  detach  themselves  from 
the  subhymenial  tissue,  and  being  attenuated  towards  their  base, 
are  forced  upwards  by  pressure  of  the  younger  asci,  to,  and  in 
some  instances  beyond,  the  upper  surface  of  the  disc.  This 
phenomenon  commences  during  the  night,  and  continues  during 
the  night  and  all  the  morning.  It  attains  its  height  at  mid- day, 
and  it  is  then  that  the  slightest  breath  of  air,  the  slightest 


STRUCTURE. 


59 


movement,  suffices  to  cause  dehiscence,  which  is  generally- 
followed  by  a  scarcely  perceptible  contractile  motion  of  the 
receptacle. 

There  is  manifestly  a  succession  in  formation  and  maturity  of 
the  asci  in  a  receptacle.  In  the  true  Ascobolei,  in  which  the 
sporidia  are  coloured,  this  may  be  more  dis- 
tinctly seen.  At  first  some  thin  projecting 
points  appear  upon  the  disc,  the  next  day 
they  are  more  numerous,  and  become  more 
and  more  so  on  following  days,  so  as  to 
render  the  disc  almost  covered  with  raised 
black  or  crystalline  points  ;  *  these  after- 
wards diminish  day  by  day,  until  they  ulti- 
mately cease.  The  asci,  after  separation 
from  the  subhymenial  tissue,  continue  to 
lengthen,  or  it  may  be  that  their  elasticity 
permits  of  extension  during  expulsion. 
Boudier  considers  that  an  amount  of  elas- 
ticity is  certain,  because  he  has  seen  an 
ascus  arrive  at  maturity,  eject  its  spores, 
and  then  make  a  sharp  and  considerable 
movement  of  retraction,  then  the  ascus  re- 
turned again  immediately  towards  its  pre- 
vious limits,  always  with  a  reduction  in  the 
number  of  its  contained  sporidia. 

The  dehiscence  of  the  asci  takes  place  in 
the   Ascobolei,   in   some  species   of  Peziza, 
Morchella,  Helvella,  and  Verpa,  by  means 
of  ar-  apical  operculum",  and  in  other  Pezizce, 
Helotium,  Geoglossum,  Leotia,  Mitrula,  &c., 
by  a  fissure  of  the  ascus.     This  operculum   bolu*  (Boudier)- 
may  be  the  more  readily  seen  when  the  ascus  is  coloured  by  a 
drop  of  tincture  of  iodine. 

The   sporidia  are  usually  four  or  eight,  or  some  multiple  of 
that  number,  in  each   ascus,  rarely  four,  most  commonly  eight. 
At  a  fixed  time  the  protoplasm,  which  at  first  filled  the  asci,  dis- 
Only  in  some  of  the  Discomycetes  are  the  asci  exserted. 


60  FUNGI. 

appears  or  is  absorbed  in  a  mucilaginous  matter,  which  occupies 
its  place,  in  the  midst  of  which  is  a  small  nucleus,  which  is  tho 
rudiment  of  the  first  spore;  other  spores  are  formed  consecutively, 
and  then  the  substance  separates  into  as  many  sections  as  there 
are  sporidia.  From  this  period  each  sporidium  seems  to  have  a 
separate  existence.  All  have  a  nucleus,  which  is  scarcely  visible, 
often  slightly  granular,  but  which  is  quite  distinct  from  the 
oleaginous  sporidioles  so  frequent  amongst  the  Discomycetes, 
and  which  are  sometimes  called  by  the  same  name.  The  spori- 
dia are  at  first  a  little  smaller  than  when  mature,  and  are  sur- 
rounded by  mucilage.  After  this  period  the  sporidia  lose  their 
nebulous  granulations,  whilst  still  preserving  their  nucleus  ;  their 
outlines  are  distinct,  and,  amongst  the  true  Ascobolei,  commence 
acquiring  a  rosy  colour,  the  first  intimation  of  maturity.  This 
colour  manifests  itself  rapidly,  accumulating  exclusively  upon 
the  epispore,  which  becomes  of  a  deep  rose,  then  violet,  and 
finally  violet  blue,  so  deep  as  sometimes  to  appear  quite  black. 
There  are  some  modifications  in  this  coloration,  since,  in  some 
species,  it  passes  from  a  vinous  red  to  grey,  then  to  black,  or 
from  rose-violet  to  brown. 

The  epispore  acquires  a  waxy  consistence  by  this  pigmenta- 
tion, so  that  it  may  be  detached  in  granules.  It  is  to  this  parti- 
cular consistency  of  the  epispore  that  the  cracks  so  frequent  in 
the  coloured  sporidia  of  Ascobolus  are  due,  through  contraction 
of  the  epispore.  As  they  approach  maturity,  the  sporidia  accu- 
mulate towards  the  apex  of  the  asci,  and  finally  escape  in  the 
manner  already  indicated. 

In  all  essential  particulars  there  is  a  great  similarity  in  the 
structure  of  the  other  Discomycetes,  especially  in  their  reproduc- 
tive system.  In  most  of  them  coloured  sporidia  are  rare.  In 
some  the  receptacle  is  pileate,  clavate,  or  inflated,  whilst  in 
Stictis  it  is  very  much  reduced,  and  in  the  lowest  form  of  all, 
Ascomyces,  it  is  entirely  absent.  In  the  Phacidiacei^  the  struc- 
ture is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Elvellacei,  whilst  the  Hyste- 
riacei,  with  greater  affinities  with  the  latter,  still  tend  towards 
the  Pyrenomycetes  by  the  more  horny  nature  of  the  receptacle, 
and  the  greater  tendency  of  the  hymenium  to  remain  closed,  at 


STRUCTURE.  Gl 

least  when  dry.  In  some  species  of  Hysterium,  the  spOridia  are 
remarkably  fine.  M.  Duby*  has  subjected  this  group  to  ex- 
amination, and  M.  Tulasne  partly  so.f 

SPH^RIACEI. — In  this  group  there  is  considerable  variation, 
within  certain  limits.  It  contains  an  immense  number  of 
species,  and  these  are  daily  being  augmented.  The  general 
feature  in  all  is  the  presence  of  a  perithecium,  which  contains 
and  encloses  the  hymenium,  and  at  length  opening  by  a  pore 
or  ostiolum  at  the  apex.  In  some  the  perithecia  are  simple,  in 
others  compound  ;  in  some  immersed  in  a  stroma,  in  others 
free  ;  in  some  fleshy  or  waxy,  in  others  carbonaceous,  and  in 
others  membranaceous.  But  in  all  there  is  this  important  dif- 
ference from  the  Ascomycetes  we  have  already  had  under  con- 
sideration, that  the  hymenium  is  never  exposed.  The  perithe- 
cium consists  usually  of  an  external 
layer  of  cellular  structure,  which  is 
either  smooth  or  hairy,  usually  black- 
ish, and  an  internal  stratum  of  less 
compact  cells,  which  give  rise  to  the 

hymenium.  FlG    35.-Perithecium  of  Sphceria 

As  in  the  Discomycetes,  the  hyme- 
nium consists  of  asci,  paraphyses,  and  mucilage,  but  the  whole 
forms  a  less  compact  and  more  gelatinous  mass  within  the  peri- 
thecium. The  formation  and  growth  of  the  asci  and  sporidia 
differ  little  from  what  we  have  described,  and  when  mature  the 
asci  dehisce,  and  the  sporidia  alone  are  ejected  from  the  ostiolum. 
We  are  not  aware  that  operculate  asci  have  yet  been  detected. 
It  has  been  shown  in  some  instances,  and  suspected  in  others, 
that  certain  moulds,  formerly  classed  with  Mucedines  and  Dema- 
tiei,  especially  in  the  genus  Helminthosporium,  bear  the  conidia 
of  species  of  Sph&ria,  so  that  this  may  be  regarded  as  one  form 
of  fruit, 

Perithecia,  very  similar  externally  to  those  of  Sphceria,  but 
containing  spores  borne  on  slender  pedicels  and  not  enclosed  in 
asci,  have  had  their  relations  to  certain  species  of  Spharia  indi- 

*  Duby,  ^M^moire  sur  la  Tribu  des  Hysterinees,"  1861. 
t  Tijlasne,  '<  Selecta  Fungorura  Carpologia,"  vol.  iii. 
4 


62  FUNGI. 

cated,  and  these  are  no  longer  regarded  so  much  as  species  of 
Hendersonia  or  Diplodia  as  the  pycnidia  of  SpJicsria.  Other  and 
more  minute  peri thecia,  containing  minute,  slender  stylospores  in 
great  numbers,  formerly  classed  with  Aposph&ria,  Phoma,  &c.,  but 
are  now  recognized  as  spermogonia  containing  the  spermatia  of 
Sphcerice.  How  these  influence  each  other,  when  and  under 
what  circumstances  the  spermatia  are  instrumental  in  impregna- 
tion of  the  sporidia,  is  still  matter  of  mystery.  It  is  clear,  how- 
ever, that  in  all  these  conidia,  macrospores,  microspores,  and 
some  spermatia,  or  by  whatever  names  they  may  be  called,  there 
exists  a  power  of  germination.  Tulasne  has  indicated  in  some 
instances  five  or  six  forms  of  fruit  as  belonging  to  one  fungus, 
of  which  the  highest  and  most  perfect  condition  is  a  species  of 
Sphceria. 

PERISPORIACEI. — Except  in  the  perithecia  rupturing  irregularly, 
and  not  dehiscing  by  a  pore,  some  of 
the  genera  in  this  group  differ  little  in 
structure  from  the  Sph&riacei.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Erysiphei  present  impor- 
tant and  very  interesting  features.  They 
occur  chiefly  on  the  green  parts  of  grow- 
ing plants.  At  first  there  is  a  more  or 
less  profuse  white  mycelium.*  This 
FIG.  s6.—irncinuia  adunca.  gives  rise  to  chains  of  conidia  (Outturn), 
and  afterwards  small  sphseroid  projections  appear  at  certain 
points  on  the  mycelium.  These  enlarge,  take  an  orange  colour, 
ultimately  passing  into  brown,  and  then  nearly  black.  Exter- 
nally these  perithecia  are  usually  furnished  with  long,  spreading, 
intertwined,  or  branching  appendages,  sometimes  beautifully 
branched  or  hooked  at  their  tips.  In  the  interior  of  the  recep- 
tacles, pear-shaped  or  ovate  asci  are  formed  in  clusters,  attached 
together  at  the  base,  and  containing  two  or  more  hyaline 
sporidia.  Other  forms  of  fruit  have  also  been  observed  on 
the  same  mycelium.  In  an  exotic  genus,  Meliola,  the  fulcra,  or 
appendages,  as  well  as  the  mycelium,  are  black,  otherwisj  it 

*  Tulasne,  "  Selecta  Fungorum  Carpolosia,"  vol.  i.     Leveill^,  "Organisation, 
&c.,  sur  ifirysiphe,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Kat."  (1S51),  vol.  xv.  p.  109. 


STRUCTURE.  63 

is  very  analogous  to  such  a  genus  of  ErysipTiei  as  Microsphcsria. 
In  Chcetomium,  the  perithecia  bristle  with  rigid,  dark-coloured 
hairs,  and  the  sporidia  are  coloured.  Our  limits,  however,  will 
not  permit  of  further  elucidation  of  the  complex  and  varied 
structure  to  be  found  amongst  fungi.* 


*  Other  works  besides  those  already  cited,  which  may  be  consulted  with 
advantage  on  structure,  are — 

Tulasne,  L  R.  and  C.,  various  articles  in  "  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles," 
serie  iii.  and  iv. 

Hoffmann,  "Icones  Analyticse  Fungorum." 

De  Bary,  "  Der  Ascomyceten."     Leipzic,  1863. 

Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "  Introduction  to  Cryptogamic  Botany." 

Seynes,  J.  de,  "  Recherches,  &c.,  des  Fistulines."    Paris,  1874. 

Winter,  G.,  "Die  Deutschen  Sordarien."     1874. 

Corda,  J.,  "  Prachtflora. "     Prague,  1840. 

DeBary,  "  Uber  der  Brandpilze. "     1853. 

Brefeld,  0.,  "  Botan.  Untersuch.  u  Schimmelpilze." 

Fresenius,  G.,  "  Beitr&ge  zur  Mykologie."     1850. 

Von  Tieghem  and  Le  Monnier,  in  "  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles"  (1873), 
p.  335. 

Cornu,  M.,  "Sur  les  Saprolegniees,"  in  "  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  5Iue  se>.  xv. 
p.  5. 

Janczenski,  "Sur  1'Ascobolus  furfuraceus,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  5me 
se>.  xv.  p.  200. 

De  Bary  and  Woronin,  "Beitrage  zur  Morphologic  und  Physiologic  der  Pike." 
1870. 

Bonorden,  H.  F.,  "  ALhandlungen  ans  dem  Gebiete  der  Mykologie."    1864. 

Coemans,  E.,  "Spicilege  Mycologique."    1862,  etc. 


in 

CLASSIFICATION 

A  WORK  of  this  kind  could  not  be  considered  complete  without 
some  account  of  the  systematic  arrangement  or  classification 
which  these  plants  receive  at  the  hands  of  botanists.  It  would 
hardly  avail  to  enter  too  minutely  into  details,  yet  sufficient 
should  be  attempted  to  enable  the  reader  to  comprehend  the 
value  and  relations  of  the  different  groups  into  which  fungi  are 
divided.  The  arrangement  generally  adopted  is  based  upon 
the  "  Systema  Mycologicum"  of  Fries,  as  modified  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  more  recent  microscopical  researches  by  Berkeley 
in  his  "  Introduction,"*  and  adopted  in  Lindley's  "Vegetable 
Kingdom."  Another  arrangement  was  proposed  by  Professor 
de  Bary,-f  but  it  has  never  met  with  general  acceptance. 

In  the  arrangement  to  which  we  have  alluded,  all  fungi  are 
divided  into  two  primary  sections,  having  reference  to  the  mode 
in  which  the  fructification  is  produced.  In  one  section,  the 
spores  (which  occupy  nearly  the  same  position,  and  perform 
similar  functions,  to  the  seeds  of  higher  plants)  are  naked  ;  that 
is,  they  are  produced  on  spicules,  and  are  not  enclosed  in  cysts 
or  capsules.  This  section  is  called  SPOKIFERA,  or  spore-bearing, 
because,  by  general  consent,  the  term  spore  is  limited  in  fungi 
to  such  germ-cells  as  are  not  produced  in  cysts.  The  second 
section  is  termed  SPOEIDIIFEEA,  or  sporidia-bearing,  because  in 
like  manner  the  term  sporidia  is  limited  to  such  germ-cells  as 

*  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley,  "Introduction  to  Cryptogamic  Botany"  (1857),  Lon- 
don,  pp.  235  to  372. 

f  De  Bary,  in  "  Streinz  Nomenclator  Fungorum,"  p.  722. 


CLASSIFICATION.  65 

are  produced  in  cells  or  cysts.  These  cysts  are  respectively 
known  as  sporangia,  and  asci  or  ihecce.  The  true  meaning  and 
value  of  these  divisions  will  be  better  comprehended  when  we 
have  detailed  the  characters  of  the  families  composing  these  two 
divisions. 

First,  then,  the  section  SPORIFERA  contains  four  families,  in  two 
of  which  a  hymenium  is  present,  and  in  two  there  is  no  proper 
hymenium.  The  term  hymenium  is  employed  to  represent  a 
more  or  less  expanded  surface,  on  which  the  fructification  is 
produced,  and  is,  in  fact,  the  fruit-bearing  surface.  When  no 
such  surface  is  present,  the  fruit  is  borne  on  threads,  proceeding 
direct  from  the  root-like  filaments  of  the  mycelium,  or  an  inter- 
mediate kind  of  cushion  or  stroma.  The  two  families  in  which 
an  hymenium  is  present  are  called  Hymenomycetes  and  Gastero- 
mycetes.  In  the  former,  the  hymenium  is  exposed ;  in  the  latter,  it 
is  at  first  enclosed.  We  must  examine  each  of  these  separately. 

The  common  mushroom  may  be  accepted,  by  way  of  illustra.- 
tion,  as  a  type  of  the  family  Hymenomycetes,  in  which  the 
hymenium  is  exposed,  and  is,  in  fact,  the  most  noticeable 
feature  in  the  family  from  which  its  name  is  derived.  The 
pileus  or  cap  bears  on  its  under  surface  radiating  plates  or  gills, 
consisting  of  the  hymenium,  over  which  are  thickly  scattered 
the  basidia,  each  surmounted  by  four  spicules,  and  on  each 
spicule  a  spore.  When  mature,  these  spores  fall  freely  upon  the 
ground  beneath,  imparting  to  it  the  general  colour  of  the  spores. 
But  it  must  be  observed  that  the  hymenium  takes  the  form  of 
gill-plates  in  only  one  order  of  Hymenomycetes^  namely,  the 
Agaricini;  and  here,  as  in  Cantharellus,  the  hymenium  is  some- 
times spread  over  prominent  veins  rather  than  gills.  Still 
further  divergence  is  manifest  in  the  Polyporei,  in  which  order 
the  hymenium  lines  the  inner  surface  of  pores  or  tubes,  which 
are  normally  on  the  under  side  of  the  pileus.  Both  these  orders 
include  an  immense  number  of  species,  the  former  more  or  less 
fleshy,  the  latter  more  or  less  tough  and  leathery.  There  are 
still  other  forms  and  orders  in  this  family,  as  the  Hydnei,  in 
which  the  hymenium  clothes  the  surface  of  prickles  or  spines, 
and  the  Auricularini,  in  which  the  hymenium  is  entirely  or 


66  FUNGI. 

almost  even.  In  the  two  remaining  orders,  there  is  a  still  further 
divergence  from  the  mushroom  form.  In  the  one  called  Clavariei, 
the  entire  fungus  is  either  simply  cylindrical  or  club-shaped,  or 
it  is  very  much  branched  and  ramified.  Whatever  form  the 
fungus  assumes,  the  hymeniuni  covers  the  whole  exposed  surface. 
In  the  Tremellini,  a  peculiar  structure  prevails,  which  at  first 
seems  to  agree  but  little  with  the  preceding.  The  whole  plant 
is  gelatinous  when  fresh,  lobed  and  convolute,  often  brain-like, 
and  varying  in  size,  according  to  species,  from  that  of  a  pin's 
head  to  that  of  a  man's  head.  Threads  and  sporophores  are 
imbedded  in  the  gelatinous  substance,*  so  that  the  fertile  threads 
are  in  reality  not  compacted  into  a  true 
hymenium.  With  this  introduction  we 
may  state  that  the  technical  characters 
of  the  family  are  thus  expressed  :— 
Bl/x^'  ^  Hymenium  free ,  mostly  naked,  or,  if 
enclosed  at  first,  soon  exposed ;  spores 
naked,  mostly  quaternale,  on  distinct 
spicules  =  HYMENOMYCETES. 

In  this  family  some  mycologists  be- 
lieve that  fungi  attain  the  highest  form 
of  development  of  which  they  are  ca- 
pable, whilst  others  contend  that  the 

FIG.  37. — Agancus  nudus.  *•  , 

fructification  of  the  Ascomycetes  is  more 

perfect,  and  that  some  of  the  noblest  species,  such  as  the  pileate 
forms,  are  entitled  to  the  first  rank.  The  morel  is  a  familiar 
example.  Whatever  may  be  said  on  this  point,  it  is  incontro- 
vertible that  the  noblest  and  most  attractive,  as  well  as  the 
largest,  forms  are  classed  under  the  Hymenomycetes. 

In  Gasteromycetes,  the  second  family,  a  true  hymenium  is 
also  present,  but  instead  of  being  exposed  it  is  for  a  long  time 
enclosed  in  an  outer  peridium  or  sac,  until  the  spores  are  fully 
matured,  or  the  fungus  is  beginning  to  decay.  The  common 
puff-ball  (Lycoperdon)  is  well  known,  and  will  illustrate  the 
principal  feature  of  the  family.  Externally  there  is  a  tough 

*  Tulasne,  L.  and  C.  R.,  "  Observations  sur  1'Organisation  des  Tremellin&s," 
"Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  1853,  xix.  p.  193. 


CLASSIFICATION.  67 

coat  or  peridium,  which  is  at  first  pale,  but  ultimately  .becomes 
brown.  Internally  is  at  first  a  cream-coloured,  then  greenish, 
cellular  mass,  consisting  of  the  sinuated  hymeuium  and  young 
spores,  which  at  length,  and  when  the  spores  are  fully  matured 
become  brownish  and  dusty,  the  hymenium  being  broken  up 
into  threads,  and  the  spores  become  free.  In  earlier  stages, 
and  before  the  hymenium  is  ruptured,  the  spores  have  been 
found  to  harmonize  with  those  of  Hymenomycetes  in  their  mode 
of  production,  since  basidia  are  present  surmounted  each  by 
four  spicules,  and  each  spicule  normally  surmounted  by  a 
spore.*  Here  is,  therefore,  a  cellular  hymenium  bearing  qua- 
ternary spores,  but,  instead  of  being  exposed,  this  hymenium 
is  wholly  enclosed  within  an  external  sac  or  peridium,  which 
is  not  ruptured  until  the  spores  are  fully  matured,  and  the 
hymenium  is  resolved  into  threads,  together  forming  a  pul- 
verulent mass.  It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind,  that  in 
only  some  of  the  orders  composing  this  family  is  the  hymenium 
thus  evanescent,  in  others  being  more  or  less  permanent,  and 
this  has  led  naturally  enough  to  the  recognition  of  two  sub- 
families, in  one  of  which  the  hymenium  is  more  or  less  per- 
manent,, thus  following  the  Hymenomycetous  type  ;  and  in  the 
other,  the  hymenium  is  evanescent,  and  the  dusty  mass  of  spores 
tends  more  towards  the  Coniomycetes,  this  being  characterized 
as  the  coniospermous  (or  dusty-spored)  sub-family. 

The  first  sub-family  includes,  first  of  all,  the  Hypogai,  or  sub- 
terranean species.  And  here  again  it  becomes  necessary  to  re- 
mind the  reader  that  all  subterranean  fungi  are  not  included  in 
this  order,  inasmuch  as  some,  of  which  the  truffle  is  an  exam- 
ple, are  sporidiiferous,  developing  their  sporidia  in  asci.  To 
these  allusion  must  hereafter  be  made.  In  the  Hypogcei,  the 
hymenium  is  permanent  and  convoluted,  leaving  numerous 
minute  irregular  cavities,  in  which  the  spores  are  produced  on 

*  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "On  the  Fructification  of  Lycoperdon,  Phallus,  and  their 
Allied  Genera,"  in  "Ann.  of  Nat.  Hist."  (1840),  vol.  iv.  p.  155;  "Ann.  des 
Sci.  Nat."  (1839),  xii.  p.  163.  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "De  la  Fructification  dea 
Scleroderma  comparee  a  celle  des  Lycoperdon  et  des  Bovista,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci. 
Nat."  2me  ser.  xvii.  p.  5. 


68  FUNGI. 

sporophores.  When  specimens  are  very  old  and  decaying,  the 
interior  may  become  pulverulent  or  deliquescent.  The  structure 
of  subterranean  fungi  attracted  the  attention  of  Messrs.  Tulasne, 
and  led  to  the  production  of  a  splendid  monograph  on  the 
subject.*  Another  order  belonging  to  this  sub-family  is  the 
Phalloidei,  in  which  the  volva  or  peridium  is  ruptured  whilst 
the  plant  is  still  immature,  and  the  hymenium  when  mature 
becomes  deliquescent.  Not  only  are  some  members  of  this 
order  most  singular  in  appearance,  but  they  possess  an  odour 
so  foetid  as  to  be  unapproached  in  this  property  by  any  other 
vegetable  production.f  In  this  order,  the  inner  stratum  of  the 
investing  volva  is  gelatinous.  When  still  young,  and  previous 
to  the  rupture  of  the  volva,  the  hymenium  presents  sinuous 
cavities  in  which  the  spores  are  produced  on  spicules,  after  the 
manner  of  Hymcnomycetes.^  Nidulariacei  is  a  somewhat  aber- 
rant order,  presenting  a  peculiar  structure.  The  peridium  con- 
sists of  two  or  three  coats,  and  bursts  at  the  apex,  either 
irregularly  or  in  a  stellate  manner,  or  by  the  separation  of 
a  little  lid.  Within  the  cavity  are  contained  one  or  more 
secondary  receptacles,  which  are  either  free  or  attached  by 
elastic  threads  to  the  common  receptacle.  Ultimately  the 
secondary  receptacles  are  hollow,  and  spores  are  produced 
in  the  interior,  borne  on  spicules.  §  The  appearance  in  some 
genera  as  of  a  little  bird's-nest  containing  eggs  has  furnished 
the  name  to  the  order. 

The  second  sub-family  contains  the  conlospermous  puff-balls, 
and  includes  two  orders,  in  which  the  most  readily  distinguish- 
able feature  is  the  cellular  condition  of  the  entire  plant,  in  its 
earlier  stages,  in  the  Trichogastres,  and  the  gelatinous  condition 
of  the  early  state  of  the  Myxogastres.  Both  are  ultimately 
resolved  internally  into  a  dusty  mass  of  threads  and  spores. 

*  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "Fungi  Hypogaei,"  Paris,  1851;  "Observations  sur 
le  Genre  Elaphomyces,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  1841,  xvi.  5. 

f  Stapelice  in  this  respect  approach  most  closely  to  the  Phalloidei. 

£  Berkeley,  in  "Ann.  Nat.  Hist."  vol.  iv.  p.  155. 

§  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "Recherches  sur  1'Organisation  et  le  Mode  de  Fruc- 
tification des  Nidularie"es,"  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (181-1),  i.  p.  41. 


CLASSIFICATION.  69 

In  the  former,  the  peridium  is  either  single  or  double,  oc- 
casionally borne  on  a  stem,  but  usually  sessile.  In  Greasier, 
the  "  starry  puff-balls,"  the  outer  peridium  divides  into 
several  lobes,  which  fall  back  in  a  stellate  manner,  and  expose 
the  inner  peridium,  like  a  ball  in  the  centre.  In  Polysaccum, 
the  interior  is  divided  into  numerous 
cells,  filled  with  secondary  peridia.  The 
mode  of  spore-production  has  already 
been  alluded  to  in  our  remarks  on  Lyco- 
per  don.  All  the  species  are  large,  as 
compared  with  those  of  the  following 
sub-family,  and  one  species  of  Lycoper- 
don  attains  an  enormous  size.  One 
specimen  recorded  in  the  "  Gardener's 
Chronicle  "  was  three  feet  four  inches 
38.-Sderoder,na  vuigare,  Fr.  in  circumference,  and  weighed  nearly 
ten  pounds.  In  the  Myxogastres,  the  early  stage  has  been  the 
subject  of  much  controversy.  The  gelatinous  condition  presents 
phenomena  so  unlike  anything  previously  recorded  in  plants, 
that  one  learned  professor*  did  not  hesitate  to  propose  their 
exclusion  from  the  vegetable,  and  recognition  in  the  animal, 
kingdom  as  associates  of  the  Gregarines.  When  mature,  the 
spores  and  threads  so  much  resemble  those  of  the  Trichogastres, 
and  the  little  plants  themselves  are  so  veritably  miniature  puff'- 
balls,  that  the  theory  of  their  animal  nature  did  not  meet  with 
a  ready  acceptance,  and  is  now  virtually  abandoned.  The  cha- 
racters of  the  family  we  have  thus  briefly  reviewed  are  tersely 
stated,  as — 

Hymenium  more  or  less  permanently  concealed,  consisting  in 
most  cases  of  closely -packed  cells,  of  which  the  fertile  ones  bear 
naked  spores  on  distinct  spicules,  exposed  only  by  the  rupture  or 
decay  of  the  investing  coat  or  peridium  =  GASTEROMYCETES. 

We  come  now  to  the  second  section  of  the  Sporifera,  in 
which  no  definite  hymenium  is  present.  And  here  we  find 
also  two  families,  in  one  of  which  the  dusty  spores  are  the 

*  De  Bary,  A.,  "Des  Myxomycetes,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4mc  ser.  xi. 
p.  153;  "  Bot.  Zeit."  xvi.  p.  357. 


70  FUNGI. 

prominent  feature,  and  hence  termed  Coniomycetes ;  the  other, 
in  which  the  threads  are  most  noticeable,  is  Hyphomycetes. 
In  the  former  of  these,  the  reproductive  system  seems  to  pre- 
ponderate so  much  over  the  vegetative,  that  the  fungus  appears 
to  be  all  spores.  The  mycelium  is  often  nearly  obsolete,  and 
the  short  pedicels  so  evanescent,  that  a  rusty  or  sooty  powder 
represents  the  mature  fungus,  infesting  the  green  parts  of  living 
plants.  This  is  more  especially  true  of  one  or  two  orders.  It 
will  be  most  convenient  to  recognize  two  artificial  sub-families 
for  the  purpose  of  illustration,  in  one  of  which  the  species  are 
developed  on  living,  and  in  the  other  on  dead,  plants.  We  will 
commence  with  the  latter,  recognizing  first  those  which  are 
developed  beneath  the  cuticle,  and  then  those  which  are  super- 
ficial. Of  the  sub-cuticular,  two  orders  may  be  named  as  the 
representatives  of  this  group  in  Britain,  these  are  the  Sphcero- 
nemei,  in  which  the  spores  are  contained  in  a  more  or  less  perfect 
perithecium,  and  the  Melanconiei,  in  which  there  is  manifestly 
none.  The  first  of  these  is  analogous  to  the  Sphceriacei  of  As- 
comycetous  fungi,  and  probably  consists  largely  of  spermogonia 
of  known  species  of  Sph&ria,  the  relations  of  which  have  not 
hitherto  been  traced.  The  spores  are  produced  on  slender 
threads  springing  from  the  inner  wall  of  the  perithecium,  and, 
when  mature,  are  expelled  from  an  orifice  at  the  apex.  This  is 


O.  39.  —  Ceuthospora  phacidioidex  (Greville). 


the  normal  condition,  to  which  there  are  some  exceptions.  In 
the  Melanconiei,  there  is  no  true  perithecium,  but  the  spores  are 
produced  in  like  manner  upon  a  kind  of  stroma  or  cushion 


CLASSIFICATION.  71 

formed  from  the  mycelium,  and,  when  mature,  are,  expelled 
through  a  rupture  of  the  cuticle  beneath  which  they  are  gene- 
rated, often  issuing  in  long  gelatinous  tendrils.  Here,  again, 
the  majority  of  what  were  formerly  regarded  as  distinct  species 
have  been  found,  or  suspected,  to  be  forms  of  higher  fungi.  The 
Torulacei  represent  the  superficial  fungi  of  this  family,  and  these 
consist  of  a  more  or  less  developed  mycelium,  which  gives  rise 
to  fertile  threads,  which,  by  constriction  and  division,  mature 
into  moniliform  chains  of  spores.  The  species  mostly  appear 
as  blackish  velvety  patches  or  stains  on  the  stems  of  herbaceous 
plants  and  on  old  weathered  wood. 

Much  interest  attaches  to  the  other  sub-family  of  Coniomycetes, 
in  which  the  species  are  produced  for  the  most  part  on  living 
plants.  So  much  has  been  discovered  during  recent  years  of  the 
polymorphism  which  subsists  amongst  the  species  in  this  section, 
that  any  detailed  classification  can  only  be  regarded  as  pro- 
visional. Hence  we  shall  proceed  here  upon  the  supposition 
that  we  are  dealing  with  autonomous  species.  In  the  first  place, 
we  must  recognize  a  small  section  in  which  a  kind  of  cellular 
peridium  is  present.  This  is  the  JEcidiacei,  or  order  of  "  cluster 
cups."  The  majority  of  species  are  very  beautiful  objects  under 
the  microscope  ;  the  peridia  are  distinctly  cellular,  and  white  or 
pallid,  produced  beneath  the  cuticle,  through  which  they  burst, 
and,  rupturing  at  the  apex,  in  one  genus  in  a  stellate  manner, 
so  that  the  teeth,  becoming  re  flexed,  resemble  delicate  fringed 
cups,  with  the  orange,  golden,  brown,  or  whitish  spores  or 
pseudospores  nestling  in  the  interior.*  These  pseudospores 
are  at  first  produced  in  chains,  but  ultimately  separate.  In 
many  cases  these  cups  are  either  accompanied  or  preceded  by 
spermogoiiia.  In  two  other  orders  there  is  no  peridium.  In 
the  C&omacei,  the  pseudospores  are  more  or  less  globose  or 
ovate,  sometimes  laterally  compressed  and  simple ;  and  in 
Puccini&i,  they  are  elongated,  often  subfusiform  and  septate. 
In  both,  the  pseudospores  are  produced  in  tufts  or  clusters 
direct  from  the  mycelium.  The  Cceomacei  might  again  be  sub- 

*  Corda,  "Icones  Fungorum,"  vol.  iii.  fig.  45. 


72  FUNGI. 

divided  into  Ustilagincs  *  and  Uredines.^  In  the  former,  the 
pseudospores  are  mostly  dingy  brown  or  blackish,  and  in  the 
latter  more  brightly  coloured,  often  yellowish.  The  Ustilagines 
include  the  smuts  and  bunt  of  corn-plants,  the  Uredines 
include  the  red  rusts  of  wheat  and  grasses.  In  some  of  the 
species  included  in  the  latter,  two  forms  of  fruit  are  found. 
In  Melampsora,  the  summer  pseudospores  are  yellow,  globose, 
and  were  formerly  classed  as  a  species  of  Lecythea,  whilst 
the  winter  pseudospores  are  brownish,  elongated,  wedge- 
shaped  by  compression,  and  compact.  The  Puccinicei  %  differ 
primarily  in  the  septate  pseudospores,  which  in  one  genus 
(Puccinid)  are  uniseptate  ;  in  Tripkragmivm,  they  are  biseptate  ; 
in  Phragmidium,  multiseptate ;  and  in  Xenodochus,  moniliform, 
breaking  up  into  distinct  articulations.  It  is  probable  that,  in 
all  of  these,  as  is  known  to  be  the  case  in  most,  the  septate 
pseudospores  are  preceded  or  accompanied  by  simple  pseudo- 
spores,  to  which  they  are  mysteriously  related.  There  is  still 
another,  somewhat  singular,  group  usually  associated  with  the 
Pttccini&i,  in  which  the  septate  pseudospores  are  immersed  in 
gelatin,  so  that  in  many  features  the  species  seem  to  approach 
the  Tremellini.  This  group  includes  two  or  three  genera,  the 
type  of  which  will  be  found  in  Podisoma.^  These  fungi  are 
parasitic  on  living  junipers  in  Britain  and  North  America, 
appearing  year  after  year  upon  the  same  gouty  swellings  of  the 
branches,  in  clavate  or  horn-shaped  gelatinous  processes  of  a 
yellowish  or  orange  colour.  Anomalous  as  it  may  at  first  sight 
appear  to  include  these  tremelloid  forms  with  the  dust-like  fungi, 
their  relations  will  on  closer  examination  be  more  fully  appre- 
ciated, when  the  form  of  pseudospores,  mode  of  germination,  and 
other  features  are  taken  into  consideration,  especially  when 
compared  with  Podisoma  Mlisii,  already  alluded  to.  This  family 
is  technically  characterized  as, — 

*  Tulasne,  "Mdmoire  stir  les  Ustilagine'es, "  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (1847),  vii. 
12-73. 

t  Tulasne,  "Memoire  surles  Uredine'es,"  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (1854),  ii.  78. 

J  Tulasne,  "Sur  les  Uredinees,"  "  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  1854,  ii.  pi.  9. 

§  Cooke,  M.  0.,"  Notes  on  Podisoma,  "in  "Journ.  Quek.  Micr.  Club,"  No.  17 
(1871),  p.  255. 


CLASSIFICATION.  73 

Distinct  hyinenium  none.  Pseudospores  either  solitary  or  con- 
catenate, produced  on  the  tips  of  generally  short  threads,  which 
are  either  naked  or  contained  in  a  perithecium,  rarely  compacted 
into  a  gelatinous  mass,  at  length  producing  minute  spores  =  CONIO- 

MYCETES. 

The  last  family  of  the  sporifera  is  Hyphomycetes,  in  which  the 
threads  are  conspicuously  developed.  These  are  what  are  more 
commonly  called  "moulds,"  including  some  of  the  most  elegant 
and  delicate  of  microscopic  forms.  It  is  true  of  many  of  these, 
as  well  as  of  the  Coniomycetes,  that  they  are  only  conidial  forms 
of  higher  fungi ;  but  there  will  remain  a  very  large  number  of 
species  which,  as  far  as  present  knowledge  extends,  must  be  ac- 
cepted as  autonomous.  In  this  family,  we  may  again  recognize 
three  subdivisions,  in  one  of  which  the  threads  are  more  or  less 
compacted  into  a  common  stem,  in  another  the  threads  are  free, 
and  in  the  third  the  threads  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from 
the  mycelium.  It  is  this  latter  group  which  unites  the  Hypho- 
mycetes  with  the  Coniomycetes,  the  affinities  being  increased  by  the 
great  profusion  with  which  the  spores  are  developed.  The  first 
group,  in  which  the  fertile  threads  are  united  so  as  to  form  a 
compound  stem,  consists  of  two  small  orders,  the  Isariacei  and  the 
Slilbacei,  in  the  former  of  which  the  spores  are  dry,  and  in  the 
latter  somewhat  gelatinous.  Many  of  the  species  closely  imitate 
forms  met  with  in  the  Hymenomycetes,  such  as  Clavaria  ;  and, 
in  the  genus  Isaria,  it  is  almost  beyond  doubt  that  the  species 
found  on  dead  insects,  moths,  spiders,  flies,  ants,  &c.,  are  merely 
the  conidiophores  of  species  of  Torrubia.* 

The  second  group  is  by  far  the  largest,  most  typical,  and 
attractive  in  this  family.  It  contains  the  black  moulds  and 
white  moulds,  technically  known  as  the  Dematiei  and  the 
Mucedines.  In  the  first,  the  threads  are  more  or  less  corticated, 
that  is,  the  stem  has  a  distinct  investing  membrane,  which  peels 
off  like  a  bark  ;  and  the  threads,  often  also  the  spores,  are  dark- 
coloured,  as  if  charred  or  scorched.  In  many  cases,  the  spores 
are  highly  developed,  large,  multiseptate,  and  nucleate,  and  sel- 

*  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "Selecta  Fungorura  Carpologia,"  vol.  Hi.  pp.  4-19. 


74 


FUNGI. 


FIG.  40. 


dom  are  spores  and  threads  colourless  or  of  bright  tints.  In 
the  Mucedines,  on  the  contrary,  the  threads  are  never  coated, 
seldom  dingy,  mostly  white  or  of  pure  colours,  and  the  spores 
have  less  a  tendency  to  extra  development  or  multiplex  septa- 
tion.  In  some  genera,  as  in  Peronospora  for  instance,*  a 
secondary  fruit  is  produced  in  the  form  of 
resting  spores  from  the  mycelium;  and 
these  generate  zoospores  as  well  as  the 
primary  spores,  similar  to  those  common 
in  AlgcB.  This  latter  genus  is  very  de- 
structive to  growing  plants,  one  species 
being  the  chief  agent  in  the  potato  disease, 
and  another  no  less  destructive  to  crops  of 
onions.  The  vine  disease  is  produced  by  a 
species  of  Oidium,  which  is  also  classed 
with  Mucedines,  but  which  is  really  the 
conidiiferous  form  of  Erysiphe.  In  other  genera,  the  majority 
of  species  are  developed  on  decaying  plants,  so  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  two  genera  mentioned,  the  Hyphomycetes  exert 
a  much  less  baneful  influence  on  vegetation  than  the  Conio- 
mycetes.  The  last  section,  including  the  Sepedoniei,  has  been 
already  cited  as  remarkable  for  the  suppression  of  the  threads, 
which  are  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  mycelium  ;  the 
spores  are  profuse,  nestling  on  the  floccose  mycelium;  whilst 
in  the  Trichodermacei,  the  spores  are  invested  by  the  threads,  as 
if  enclosed  in  a  sort  of  false  peridium.  A  summary  of  the 
characters  of  the  family  may  therefore  be  thus  briefly  ex- 
pressed: — 

Filamentous  ;  fertile  threads  naked,  for  the  most  part  free  or 
loosely  compacted,  simple  or  branched,  bearing  the  spores  at  their 
apices,  rarely  more  closely  packed,  so  as  to  form  a  distinct  common 
stem  =  HYPHOMYCETES. 

Having  thus   disposed   of    the    Sporifera,    we    must   advert 

to   the  two  families  of    Sporidiifera.     As  more  closely  related 

to  the    Hyphomycetes,  the  first   of  these  to  be  noticed   is  the 

*  De  Bary,  A.,  "  Recherches  sur  les  Champignons  Parasites,"  in  "Ann.  des 

Sci.  Nat."  4rae  se"r.  xx.  p.  5  ;  "  Grevillea,"  vol.  i.  p.  150. 


CLASSIFICATION.  75 

Physomycetes,  in  which  there  is  no  proper  hymenium,  and  the 
threads  proceeding  from  the  mycelium  bear  vesicles  contain- 
ing an  indefinite  number  of  sporidia.  The  fertile  threads  are 
either  free  or  only 'slightly  felted.  In  the  order  Antennariei,  the 
threads  are  black  and  moniliform,  more  or  less  felted,  bearing 
irregular  sporangia.  A  common  fungus  named  Zasmidium 
cellare,  found  in  cellars,  and  incrusting  old  wine  bottles,  as 
with  a  blackened  felt,  belongs  to  this  order.  The  larger  and 
more  highly-developed  order,  Mucorini,  differs  in  the  threads, 
which  are  simple  or  branched,  being  free, 
erect,  and  bearing  the  sporangia  at  the  tips 
of  the  thread,  or  branches.  Some  of  the 
species  bear  great  external  resemblance  to 
Mucedines  until  the  fruit  is  examined,  when 
the  fructifying  heads,  commonly  globose  or 
ovate,  are  found  to  be  delicate  transparent 
vesicles,  enclosing  a  large  number  of  minute 
sporidia  ;  when  mature,  the  sporangia  burst 
and  the  sporidia  are  set  free.  In  some  spe- 
cies, it  has  long  been  known  that  a  sort  of  Fl0'  «— 
conjugation  takes  place  between  opposite  threads,  which  results 
in  the  formation  of  a  sporangium.*  None  of  these  species  are 
destructive  to  vegetation,  appearing  only  upon  decaying,  and 
not  upon  living,  plants.  A  state  approaching  putrescence  seems 
to  be  essential  to  their  vigorous  development.  The  following 
characters  may  be  compared  with  those  of  the  family  pre- 
ceding it : — 

Filamentous,  threads  free  or  only  slightly  felted,  bearing  vesicles, 
which  contain  indefinite  sp0nWm=PHYSOMYCETES. 

In  the  last  family,  the  Ascomycetes,  we  shall  meet  with  a 
very  great  variety  of  forms,  all  agreeing  in  producing  sporidia 
contained  in  certain  cells  called  asci,  which  are  produced  from 
the  hymenium.  In  some  of  these,  the  asci  are  evanescent, 
but  in  the  greater  number  are  permanent.  In  Onygenei,  the 
receptacle  is  either  club-shaped  or  somewhat  globose,  and  the 

*  A.  de  Bary,  translated  in  "  Grevillea,"  vol.  i.  p.  167  ;  Tulasne,  "Ann.  des 
Sci.  Nat."  6me  s6r.  (1866),  p.  211. 


76  FUNGI. 

peridium  is  filled  with  branched  threads,  which  produce  asci  of  a 
very  evanescent  character,  leaving  the  pulverulent  sporidia  to 
fill  the  central  cavity.  The  species  are  all  small,  and  singular  for 
their  habit  of  affecting  animal  substances,  otherwise  they  are 
of  little  importance.  The  Perisporiacci,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
very  destructive  of  vegetation,  being  produced,  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  on  the  green  parts  of  growing  plants.  To  this  order 
the  hop  mildew,  rose  mildew,  and  pea  mildew  belong.  The 
mycelium  is  often  very  much  developed,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
maple,  pea,  hop,  and  some  others,  it  covers  the  parts  attacked 
with  a  thick  white  coating,  so  that  from  a  distance  the  leaves 
appear  to  have  been  whitewashed.  Seated  on  the  mycelium,  at 
the  first  as  little  orange  points,  are  the  perithecia,  which  enlarge 
and  become  nearly  black.  In  some  species,  very  elegant  whitish 
appendages  radiate  from  the  sides  of  the  perithecia,  the  varia- 
tions in  which  aid  in  the  discrimination  of  species.  The  perithecia 
contain  pear-shaped  asci,  which  spring  from  the  base  and  enclose 
a  definite  number  of  sporidia.*  The  asci  themselves  are  soon 
dissolved.  Simultaneously  with  the  development  of  sporidia, 
other  reproductive  bodies  are  produced  direct  from  the  mycelium, 
and  in  some  species  as  many  as  five  different  kinds  of  reproduc- 
tive bodies  have  been  traced.  The  features  to  be  remembered  in 
Perisporiacei,  as  forming  the  basis  of  their  classification,  are,  that 
the  asci  are  saccate,  springing  from  the  base  of  the  perithecia, 
and  are  soon  absorbed.  Also  that  the  perithecia  themselves  are 
not  perforated  at  the  apex. 

The  four  remaining  orders,  though  large,  can  be  easily  charac- 
terized. In  Tuberacei,  all  the  species  are  subterranean,  and  the 
hymenium  is  mostly  sinuated.  In  JUlvellacei,  the  substance  is 
more  or  less  fleshy,  and  the  hymenium  is  exposed.  In  Phaci- 
diacei,  the  substance  is  hard  or  leathery,  and  the  hymenium  is 
soon  exposed.  And  in  Sphceriacei,  although  the  substance  is 
variable,  the  hymenium  is  never  exposed,  being  enclosed  in 
perithecia  with  a  distinct  opening  at  the  apex,  through  which 
the  mature  spores  escape.  Each  of  these  four  orders  must  be 

*  Leveille,  J.  H.,  "Organisation,  &c.,  de  1'^lrysiphe,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci. 
Nat."  (18,51),  xv.  p.  109. 


CLASSIFICATION.  77 

examined  more  in  detail.  The  Tuleracei,  OP  subterranean 
Ascomycetes,  are  analogous  to  the  Hypogcsi  of  the  G aster omycetes. 
The  truffle  is  a  familiar  and  highly  prized  example.  There  is  a 
kind  of  outer  peridium,  and  the  interior  consists  of  a  fleshy 
bymenium,  more  or  less  convoluted,  sometimes  sinuous  and  con- 
fluent, so  as  to  leave  only  minute  elongated  and  irregular  cavi- 
ties, and  sometimes  none  at  all,  the  two  opposing  faces  of  the 
hymenium  meeting  and  coalescing.*  Certain  privileged  cells 
of  the  hymenium  swell,  and  ultimately  become  asci,  enclosing  a 
definite  number  of  sporidia.  The  sporidia  in  many  cases  are 
large,  reticulated,  echinulate  or  verrucose,  and  mostly  somewhat 
globose.  In  the  genus  Elaphomyces,  the  asci  are  more  than 
commonly  diffluent. 

The  Elvellacei  are  fleshy  in  substance,  or  somewhat  waxy, 
sometimes  tremelloid.  There  is  no  peridium,  but  the  hymenium 
is  always  exposed.  There  is  a  great  variety  of  forms,  some 
being  pileate,  and  others  cap-shaped,  as  there  is  also  a  great 
variation  in  size,  from  the  minute  Peziza,  small  as  a  grain  of 
sand,  to  the  large  Helvella  gigas^  which  equals  in  dimen- 
sions the  head  of  a  child.  In  the  pileate  forms,  the  stroma 
is  fleshy  and  highly  developed ;  in  the  cup-shaped,  it  is 
reduced  to  the  external  cells  of  the  cup  which  enclose  the 
hymenium.  The  hymenium  itself  consists  of  elongated  fertile 
cells,  or  asci,  mixed  with  linear  thread-like  barren  cells,  called 
paraphyses,  which  are  regarded  by  some  authors  as  barren  asci. 
These  are  placed  side  by  side  in  juxtaposition  with  the  apex 
outwards.  Each  ascus  contains  a  definite  number  of  sporidia, 
which  are  sometimes  coloured.  When  mature,  the  asci  explode 
above,  and  the  sporidia  may  be  seen  escaping  like  a  miniature 
cloud  of  smoke  in  the  light  of  the  mid-day  sun.  The  disc  or 
surface  of  the  hymenium  is  often  brightly  coloured  in  the  genus 
Peziza;  tints  of  orange,  red,  and  brown  having  the  predominance. 

In  Phacidiacei,  the  substance  is  hard  and  leathery,  intermediate 
between  the  fleshy  Elvellacei  and  the  more  horny  of  the  Sphai- 
riacei.  The  perithecia  are  either  orbicular  or  elongated,  and  the 

*  Tulasne,  L.  R.  and  C.,  "Fungi  Hypogaei,"  Paris;  Vittadiui,  C.,  "Mono- 
graph ia  Tuberacearum, "  Milan,  1831. 


78  FUNGI. 

hymenium  soon  becomes  exposed.  In  some  instances,  there  is 
a  close  affinity  with  the  Elvellacei,  the  exposed  hymenium  being 
similar  in  structure,  but  in  all  the  disc  is  at  first  closed.  In 
orbicular  forms,  the  fissure  takes  place  in  a  stellate  manner  from 
the  centre,  and  the  teeth  are  reflexed.  In  the  Hysteriacei,  where 
the  perithecia  are  elongated,  the  fissure  takes  place  throughout 
their  length.  As  a  rule,  the  sporidia  are  more  elongated,  more 
commonly  septate,  and  more  usually  coloured,  than  in  Elvellacei. 
Only  a  few  solitary  instances  occur  of  individual  species  that 
are  parasitic  on  living  plants. 

In  the  Sphariacei,  the  substance  of  the  stroma  (when  pre- 
sent) and  of  the  perithecia  is  vari- 
able, being  between  fleshy  and  waxy 
in  Nectriei,  and  tough,  horny,  some- 
times brittle,  in  Hypoxylon.  A  peri- 
thecium,  or  cell  excavated  in  the 
stroma  which  fulfils  the  functions  of 
a  perithecium,  is  always  present. 
The  hymenium  lines  the  inner  walls 
of  the  perithecium,  and  forms  a  ffela- 

FIG.  42.— Sphceria,  aquila. 

tinous  nucleus,  consisting  of  asci  and 

paraphyses.  When  fully  mature,  the  asci  are  ruptured  and  the 
sporidia  escape  by  a  pore  which  occupies  the  apex  of  the  peri- 
thecium. Sometimes  the  perithecia  are  solitary  or  scattered,  and 
sometimes  gregarious,  whilst  in  other  instances  they  are  closely 
aggregated  and  immersed  in  a  stroma  of  variable  size  and  form. 
Conidia,  spermatia,  pycnidia,  &c.,  have  been  traced  to  and  asso- 
ciated with  some  species,  but  the  history  of  others  is  still  obscure. 
Many  of  the  coniomycetous  forms  grouped  under  the  Spliceronemei 
are  probably  conditions  of  the  Sphceriacei,  as  are  also  the  Melan- 
coniei,  and  some  of  the  Hyphomycetes.  A  very  common  fungus, 
for  instance,  which  is  abundant  on  sticks  and  twigs,  forming 
rosy  or  reddish  pustules  the  size  of  a  millet  seed,  formerly 
named  Tubercularia  vulgar  is,  is  known  to  be  the  conidia-bearing 
stroma  of  the  sphasriaceous  fungus,  Nectria  cinnalarina  ;  *  and  so 

*  "A  Currant  Twig  and  Something  on  it,"  in  "Gardener's  Chronicle  "  for 
January  28,  1871.      - 


CLASSIFICATION.  79 

with  many  others.  The  following  are  the  technical  characters 
of  the  family : — 

Fruit  consisting  of  sporidia,  mostly  definite,  contained  in  asci, 
springing  from  a  naked  or  enclosed  stratum  of  fructifying  cells 
and  forming  a  nymenium  or  nucleus  =  ASCOMYCETES. 

If  the  characters  of  the  different  families  are  borne  in  mind, 
there  will  be  but  little  difficulty  in  assigning  any  fungus  to  the 
order  to  which  it  belongs  by  means  of  the  foregoing  remarks. 
For  more  minute  information,  and  for  analytical  tables  of  the 
families,  orders,  and  genera,  we  must  refer  the  student  to  some 
special  systematic  work,  which  will  present  fewer  difficulties,  if 
he  keeps  in  mind  the  distinctive  features  of  the  families.* 

To  assist  in  this  we  have  given  on  the  following  page  an 
analytical  arrangement  of  the  families  and  orders,  according 
to  the  system  recognized  and  adopted  in  the  present  volume. 
It  is,  in  all  essential  particulars,  the  method  adopted  in  our 
"  Handbook,"  based  on  that  of  Berkeley's  "  Introduction  "  and 
"  Outlines." 

*  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "Introduction  to  Cryptogamic  Botany,"  London,  1857  ; 
Cooke,  M.  C.,  "Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  London,  1871  ;  Corda,  A.  C.  J., 
"Anleitung  zum  Studium  der  Mycologie,''  Prag,  3842;  Kickx,  J.,  "  Flore 
Cryptogamique  des  Flanders,"  Gand,  1867  ;  Fries,  E.,  "  Systema  Mycologicum," 
Lund,  1830;  Fries,  E.,  "Summa  Vegetabilium  Scandinavise,"  1846;  Secretan, 
L.,  "Mycographie  Suisse,"  Geneva,  1833;  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "Outlines  of 
British  Fungology,"  London,  1860. 


80 


FUNGI. 


TABULAE,  ARRANGEMENT   OF   FAMILIES  AND 
ORDERS. 


DIVISION  I. 


SPORIFERA. 


Spores  naked. 

.     HYMENOMYCETES. 

.  Agaricini. 
.  PolyporcL 
.  Hydnei. 

Auricular  ini. 


I.  Hymenium  free,  mostly  naked,  or  soon  exposed    . 
Hymenium  normally  inferior — 

Fruit-bearing  surface  lamellose          .         • 

Fruit-bearing  surface  porous  or  tubular     . 

Fruit-bearing  surface  clothed  with  prickles 

Fruit -bear  ing  surface  even  or  rugose . 
Hymenium  superior  or  encircling— 

Clavate,  or  branched,  rarely  lobed    .         ,         .     Clavariei. 

Lobed,  convolute,  or  disc-like,  gelatinous  .         .     Tremellini. 

II.  Hymenium  enclosed  in  a  peridium,  ruptured  when  mature     GASTEROMYCETES. 
Hymenomycetous — • 

Subterranean,  naked  or  enclosed       .         .         .     Hypogcei. 
Terrestrial,  hymeuiuin  deliquescent  .         .         .     PhalloideL 
Peridium  enclosing  sporangia,  containing  spores    NidulariaceL 
Coniospermous  — 

Stipitate,  hymenium   convolute,    drying  into  a 

dusty  mass,  enclosed  in  a  volva    .         .         .     Podaxinei. 
Cellular  at  first,  hymenium   drying  up  into  a 

dusty  mass  of  thi'eads  and  spores  .         .     Trichogastres. 

Gelatinous  at  first,  peridium  containing  at  length 
a  dusty  mass  of  threads  and  spores        .         .     Myxogastres. 

III.  Spores  naked,  mostly  terminal,  on  inconspicuous  threads, 

free  or  enclosed  in  a  perithecium  .         *         .     CONIOMYCETES. 

Growing  on  dead  or  dying  plants — 
Subcutaneous — 

Perithecium  more  or  less  distinct       .         .     Spharonemei. 
Perithecium  obsolete  or  wanting         .         .     Melanconiei. 
Superficial — 

Fructifying  surface  naked. 

Spores  compound  or  tomiparous  .         .     Torulacci. 
Parasitic  on  living  plants — 

Peridium  distinctly  cellular       ....     JScidiacei. 
Peridium  none — 

Spores  sub-globose,  simple  or  deciduous       .     Cceomacei. 
Spores  mostly  oblong,  usually  septate          .     Puccinicei. 


CLASSIFICATION.  8. 

IV.  Spores  nuked,  on  conspicuous  threads,  rarely  compacted, 

small HYPHOMYCETES. 

Fertile  threads  compacted,  sometimes  cellular — 
Stem  or  stroma  compound — 

Spores  dry,  volatile  .....     Isariacei. 
Mass  of  spores  moist,  diffluent  .         .         .     Stilbacei. 
Fertile  threads,  free  or  anastomosing — 
Fertile  threads  dark,  carbonized—- 
Spores mostly  compound   ....     DematieL 
Fertile  threads  not  carbonized-^ 
Very  distinct — 

Spores  mostly  simple .         .        •         .    Mucedines. 
Scarcely  distinct  from  mycelium — 

Spores  profuse  .        .        .        .     Sepedoniei. 


DIVISION  II.  SPORIDIIFERA.  Sporidia  in  Asci. 

V.  Fertile  cells  seated  on  threads,  not  compacted  into  a 

hymenium PHTSOMYCETES. 

Threads  felted,  moniliform — 

Sporangia  irregular Antennarlei. 

Threads  free- 
Sporangia  terminal  or  lateral   .         .         .         .     Muc.ormi. 
Aquatic         .         .         .         .         ,         .         .         .     Saprolejniei. 

VI.  Asci  formed  from  the  fertile  cells  of  a  hymenium          .     ASCOMYCETES. 
Asci  often  evanescent — 

Receptacle  clavseform — 

Asci  springing  from  threads       .         •         .     Onyyenei. 
Perithecia  free — 

Asci  springing  from  the  base      .    •- fc.  ;    «     Ptrisporiacd. 
Asci  persistent — 

Perithecia  opening  by  a  distinct  ostiolum  .         .     Sphceriacd. 
Hard  or  coriaceous,  hymemnm  at  length  exposed     Pkacidlacei. 
Hypogseous ;  hymenium  complicated .          .         .     Tuberacei. 
Fleshy,  waxy,  or  tremelloid;  hymenium  mostly 
exposed       .......     ELvdlacei. 


IV. 

USES. 

THE  rigid  utilitarian  will  hardly  bo  satisfied  with  the  short 
catalogue  which  can  be  furnished  of  the  uses  of  fungi.  Except  • 
ing  those  which  are  employed  more  or  less  for  human  food,  very 
few  are  of  any  practical  value  in  arts  or  medicine.  It  is  true 
that  imperfect  conditions  of  fungi  exert  a  very  important  influ- 
ence on  fermentation,  and  thus  become  useful ;  but,  unfortu- 
nately, fungi  have  the  reputation  of  being  more  destructive  and 
offensive  than  valuable  or  useful.  Notwithstanding  that  a  large 
number  of  species  have  from  time  to  time  been  enumerated  as 
edible,  yet  those  commonly  employed  and  recognized  are  very 
few  in  number,  prejudice  in  many  cases,  and  fear  in  others,  mili- 
tating strongly  against  additions  to "  the  number.  In  Great 
Britain  this  is  especially  the  case,  and  however  advisable  it  may 
be  to  exercise  great  care  and  caution  in  experimenting  on  untried 
or  doubtful  species,  it  can  only  be  regarded  as  prejudice  which 
prevents  good,  in  fact,  excellent,  esculent  species  being  more 
extensively  used,  instead  of  allowing  them  to  rot  by  thousands 
on  the  spots  where  they  have  grown.  Poisonous  species  are 
also  plentiful,  and  no  golden  rule  can  be  established  by  means 
of  which  any  one  may  detect  at  a  glance  good  from  bad, 
without  that  kind  of  knowledge  which  is  applied  to  the  dis- 
crimination of  species.  Yet,  after  all,  the  characters  of  half 
a  dozen  good  esculent  fungi  are  acquired  as  easily  as  the 
distinctions  between  half  a  dozen  birds  such  as  any  ploughboy 
can  discriminate. 

The  common   mushroom  {Agaricus    campestris)  is   the   best 


USES.  88 

known  esculent,  whether  in  its  uncultivated  or  in  a  cultivated 
state.  In  Britain  many  thousands  of  people,  notably  the  lower 
classes,  will  not  recognize  any  other  as  fit  for  food,  whilst  in 
Italy  the  same  classes  have  a  strong  prejudice  against  this  very 
species.*  In  Vienna,  we  found  by  personal  experience  that, 
although  many  others  are  eaten,  it  is  this  which  has  the  most 
universal  preference,  yet  it  appears  but  sparingly  in  the  markets 
as  compared  with  others.  In  Hungary  it  does  not  enjoy  by 
any  means  so  good  a  reputation.  In  France  and  in  Germany 
it  is  a  common  article  of  consumption.  The  different  varieties 
found,  as  the  results  of  cultivation,  present  some  variation  in 
colour,  scaliness  of  pileus,  and  other  minor  features,  whilst 
remaining  true  to  the  constituent  characters  of  the  species. 
Although  it  is  not  our  intention  to  enumerate  here  the  botanical 
distinctions  of  the  species  to  which  we  may  call  attention,  yet, 
as  mistakes  (sometimes  fatal)  are  often  being  recorded,  in  which 
other  fungi  are  confounded  with  this,  we  may  be  permitted  a 
hint  or  two  which  should  be  remembered.  The  spores  are 
purple,  the  gills  are  at  first  delicate  pink,  afterwards  purple  ; 
there  is  a  permanent  ring  or  collar  round  the  stem,  and  it  must 
not  be  sought  in  woods.  Many  accidents  might  have  been 
spared  had  these  facts  been  remembered. 

The  meadow  mushroom  (Agaricus  arvensis)  is  common  in 
meadows  and  lowland  pastures,  and  is  usually  of  a  larger  size 
than  the  preceding,  with  which  it  agrees  in  many  particulars, 
and  is  sent  in  enormous  quantities  to  Covent  Garden,  where  it 
frequently  predominates  over  Agaricus  campestris.  Some  persons 
prefer  this,  which  has  a  stronger  flavour,  to  the  ordinary  mush- 
room, and  it  is  the  species  most  commonly  sold  in  the  autumn 
in  the  streets  of  London  and  provincial  towns.  According  to 
Per  soon,  it  is  preferred  in  France  ;  and,  in  Hungary,  it  is  con- 
sidered as  a  special  gift  from  St.  George.  It  has  acquired  in 
England  the  name  of  horse  mushroom,  from  the  enormous  size 

*  Badham,  Dr.  C.  D.,  "A  Treatise  on  the  Esculent  Funguses  of  England," 
1st  edition  (1847),  p.  81,  pi.  4  ;  2nd  edition,  edited  by  F.  Currey,  M.A. 
(1863),  p.  94,  pi.  4;  Cooke,  M.  C.,  "A  Plain  and  Easy  Account  of  British 
Fungi,"  1st  edition  H862),  p.  44. 


84  FUNGI. 

it  sometimes  attains.  .Withering  mentions  a  specimen  that 
weighed  fourteen  pounds.* 

One  of  the  commonest  (in  our  experience  the  most  common) 
of  all  edible  fungi  in  the  public  markets  of  Vienna  is  the 
Hallimasche  (Agaricus  melleus),  which  in  England  enjoys  no 
good  reputation  for  flavour  or  quality;  indeed,  Dr.  Badham 
calls  it  "nauseous  and  disagreeable,"  and  adds  that  "not  to 
be  poisonous  is  its  only  recommendation."  In  Vienna  it  is 
employed  chiefly  for  making  sauce ;  but  we  must  confess  that 
even  in  this  way,  and  with  a  prejudice  in  favour  of  Viennese 
cookery,  our  experience  of  it  was  not  satisfactory.  It  is  at 
best  a  sorry  substitute  for  the  mushroom.  In  the  summer  and 
autumn  this  is  a  very  common  species  in  large  tufts  on  old 
stumps.  In  similar  localities,  and  also  in  tufts,  but  neither  so 
large,  nor  so  common,  Agaricus  fusipes  is  found.  It  is  prefer- 
able to  the  foregoing  as  an  esculent,  and  is  easily  recognized  by 
the  spindle-shaped  stem. 

Agaricus  rubescens,  P.,  belongs  to  a  very  suspicious  group  of 
fungi,  in  which  the  cap  or  pileus  is  commonly  studded  or 
sprinkled  with  paler  warts,  the  remains  of  an  investing  volva. 
To  this  group  the  poisonous  but  splendid  fly-agaric  (Agaricus 
muscarius)  belongs.  Notwithstanding  its  bad  company,  this 
agaric  has  a  good  reputation,  especially  for  making  ketchup ; 
and  Cordier  reports  it  as  one  of  the  most  delicate  mushrooms 
of  the  Lorraine.f  Its  name  is  derived  from  its  tendency  to 
become  red  when  bruised. 

The  white  variety  of  an  allied  species  (Agaricus  vaginatus*) 
has  been  commended,  and  Dr.  Badham  says  that  it  will  be  found 
inferior  to  but  few  agarics  in  flavour. 

A  scaly-capped  fungus  (Agaricus  procerus),  with  a  slender 
stem,  called  sometimes  the  parasol  mushroom,  from  its  habit,  is 
an  esteemed  esculent.  In  Italy  and  France  it  is  in  high  request, 

*  Mr.  Worthington  Smith  has  published,  on  Iwo  sheets,  coloured  figures  of  the 
most  common  esculent  and  poisonous  fungi  (London,  Hardwicke),  which  will  be 
found  more  useful  than  mere  description  in  the  discrimination  of  the  species. 

f  Roques,  J.,  "Hist,  des  Champignons  Comestibles  et  Ve'ne'neux,"  Paris 
1832),  p.  130. 


USES.  85 

and  is  included  in  the  majority  of  continental  works  on  the 
edible  fungi.*  In  Austria,  Germany,  and  Spain,  it  has  special 
"  vulgar "  names,  and  is  eaten  in  all  these  countries.  It  is 
much  more  collected  in  England  than  formerly,  but  deserves 
to  be  still  better  known.  When  once  seen  it  can  scarcely  be 
confounded  with  any  other  British  species,  save  one  of  its 
nearest  allies,  which  partakes  of  its  own  good  qualities  (Agaricus 
rachodes),  though  not  quite  so  good. 

Agaricus  prunulus,  Scop.,  and  Agaricus  orcella,  Badh.,  if  they 
be  not  forms  of  the  same  species  (which  Dr.  Bull  contends  that 
they  are  notf),  have  also  a  good  reputation  as  esculents.  They 
are  both  neat,  white  agarics,  with  a  mealy  odour,  growing 
respectively  in  woods  and  open  glades.  Agaricus  nebularis, 
Batsch,  is  a  much  larger  species,  found  in  woods,  often  in  large 
gregarious  patches  amongst  dead  leaves,  with  a  smoky  mouse- 
coloured  pileus,  and  profuse  white  spores.  It  is  sometimes  as 
much  as  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  with  rather  a  faint  odour 
and  mild  taste.  On  the  continent,  as  well  as  in  Britain,  this  is 
included  amongst  edible  fungi.  Still  larger  and  more  imposing 
is  the  magnificent  white  species,  Agaricus  maximus,  Fr.,J  which 
is  figured  by  Sowerby,§  under  the  name  of  Agaricus  giganteus. 
It  will  attain  a  diameter  of  fourteen  inches,  with  a  stem  two 
inches  thick,  and  rather  a  strong  odour. 

A  spring  fungus,  the  true  St.  George's  mushroom,  Agaricus 
gambosus,  Fr.,  makes  its  appearance  in  pastures,  usually  growing 
in  rings,  in  May  and  June,  and  is  welcome  to  mycophagists  from 
its  early  growth,  when  esculent  species  are  rare.  It  is  highly 
esteemed  in  France  and  Italy,  so  that  when  dried  it  will  realize 
as  much  as  from  twelve  to  fifteen  shillings  per  pound.  Guil- 
larmod  includes  it  amongst  Swiss  esculents.  ||  Professor  Buck- 

*  Lenz,  Dr.  H.  0.,  "Die  Niitzlichen  und  Schadlichen  Scliwiimme,"  Gotha 
(1831),  p.  32,  pi.  2. 

t  Bull,  H.  G.,  in  "Transactions  of  Woolhope  Club"  (1869).  Fries  admits 
them  as  distinct  species  in  the  new  edition  of  his  ' '  Epicrisis. " 

£  Hussey's  "  Illustrations  of  Mycology,"  ser.  i.  pi.  79. 

§  Sowerby's  "  British  Fungi,"  pi.  244. 

||  Favre-Guillarmod, «'  Les  Champignons  Comestibles  du  Canton  de  Neuchatel" 
(1861),  p.  27. 

fi 


86  FUNGI. 

man  says  that  it 'is  one  of  the  earliest  and  best  of  English  mush- 
rooms, and  others  have  endorsed  his  opinions,  and  Dr.  Badham 
in  writing  of  it  observes,  that  small  baskets  of  them,  when  they 
first  appear  in  the  spring  in  Italy,  are  sent  as  "  presents  to 
lawyers  and  fees  to  medical  men." 

The  closely  allied  species,  Agaricus  allellus*  D.C.,  has  also 
the  reputation  of  being  edible,  but  it  is  so  rare  in  England  that 
this  quality  cannot  be  put  to  the  test.  The  curious  short-stemmed 
Agaricus  brevipes,  Bull,"!"  has  a  similar  reputation. 

Two  singularly  fragrant  species  are  also  included  amongst  the 
esculent.  These  are  Agaricus  fragrans.  Sow.,  and  Agaricus 
odoruSj  Bull.  Both  have  a  sweet  anise-like  odour,  which  is  per- 
sistent for  a  long  time.  The  former  is  pale  tawny-coloured,  nearly 
white,  the  latter  of  a  dirty  pale  green.  Both  are  white-spored, 
and  although  somewhat  local,  sufficient  specimens  of  Ag.  odorus 
may  be  collected  in  the  autumn  for  domestic  use.  We  have  the 
assurance  of  one  who  has  often  proved  them  that  they  constitute 
an  exquisite  dish. 

A  clear  ivory-white  fungus,  Agaricus  dealbatus^  of  which  a 
crisped  variety  is  occasionally  found  in  great  numbers,  springing 
up  on  old  mushroom  beds  in  dense  clusters,  is  very  good  eating, 
but  rather  deficient  in  the  delicate  aroma  of  some  other  species. 
The  typical  form  is  not  uncommon  on  the  ground  in  fir  planta- 
tions. A  more  robust  and  larger  species,  Agaricus  geotrupcs, 
Bull,  found  on  the  borders  of  woods,  often  forming  rings,  both 
in  this  country  and  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  is  recognized  as  esculent. 

We  may  add  to  these  three  or  four  other  species,  in  which  the 
stem  is  lateral,  and  sometimes  nearly  obsolete.  The  largest  and 
most  common  is  the  oyster  mushroom  (Agaricus  ostreatus, 
Jacq.J),  so  universally  eaten,  that  it  is  included  in  almost  every 
list  and  book  on  edible  fungi ;  it  is  the  most  common  species  in 

*  Sowerby,  "  English  Fungi,"  pi.  122  ;  Smith,  in  "  SeemaniTs  Journ.  Bot." 
(1866),  t.  46,  f.  45. 

t  Klotscb,  "Flora  Borussica,"  t.  374;  Smith,  in  "Seem.  Journ.  Bot." 
(1869),  t.  95,  f.  1-4. 

$  Krombholz,  ' '  Abbildungen  der  Schwsv.nme,"  pi.  41,  f.  1-7. 


USES.  87 

Transylvania,  tons  of  it  sometimes  appearing  in  the  markets.  It 
does  not  possess  that  delicate  flavour  which  is  found  in  many 
species,  and  although  extolled  by  some  beyond  its  merits,  it  is 
nevertheless  perfectly  wholesome,  and,  when  young  and  care- 
fully cooked,  not  to  be  despised.  It  must  not  be  confounded 
with  a  very  similar  species  (Agaricus  euosmus,  B.),  with  rosy 
spores,  which  is  unpleasant.  Agaricus  tessellatus,  Bull,  Agaricus 
pometij  Fr.,  Agaricus  glan dulosus,  Bull,  are  all  allies  of  the  fore- 
going, and  recorded  as  edible  in  the  United  States,  although  not 
one  of  the  three  has  hitherto  been  recorded  as  occurring  in  Great 
Britain.  To  these  may  also  be  added  the  following : — Agaricus 
saliqnus,*  Fr.,  which  is  rare  in  England,  but  not  uncommon 
abroad  and  in  the  United  States.  In  Austria  it  is  commonly 
eaten.  Agaricus  ulmarius^f  Bull,  is  common  on  elm  trunks,  not 
only  in  Britain  but  also  in  North  America,  and  is  by  some 
preferred  to  the  oyster  mushroom.  An  allied  species,  Agaricus 
fossulatus,  Cooke,J  is  found  on  the  Cabul  Hills,  where  it  is  col- 
lected, dried,  and  forms  an  article  of  commerce  with  the  plains. 
Another,  but  smaller  species,  is  dried  in  the  air  on  strings  passed 
through  a  hole  in  the  short  stem  (Agaricus  subocreatus,  Cooke), 
and  sent,  it  is  believed,  from  China  to  Singapore. 

The  smallest  species  with  which  we  have  any  acquaintance, 
that  is  edible,  is  the  "nail  fungus"  (Agaricus  esculentus,§  Jacq.), 
scarcely  exceeding  one  inch  in  diameter  of  the  pileus,  with  a 
thin  rooting  stem.  The  taste  in  British  specimens  when  raw  is 
bitter  and  unpleasant,  but  it  is  clearly  eaten  in  Austria,  as  its 
name  testifies,  and  elsewhere  in  Europe.  It  is  found  in  fir  plan- 
tations in  the  spring,  at  which  season  it  is  collected  from  the  fir 
woods  around  and  sent  to  Vienna,  where  it  is  only  used  for 
flavouring  sauces  under  the  name  of  "  Nagelschwamme." 

Before  quitting  the  group  of  true  agarics,  to  which  all 
hitherto  enumerated  belong,  we  must  mention  a  few  others  of 
less  importance,  but  which  are  included  amongst  those  good  for 

*  Tratinnick,  L.,  "  Fungi  Austriaci,"  p.  47,  pi.  4,  f.  8. 

t  Vittadini,  "  Fungi  Mangerecci,"  pi.  23.. 

J  Cooke,  in  "Journal  of  Botany,"  vol.  viii.  p.  352. 

§  Cooke,  M.  C.,  "A  Plain  and  Easy  Guide,"  &c.,  p.  38,  pi.  6,  fip-.  1. 


88  FUNGI. 

food.  Foremost  of  these  is  a  really  splendid  orange  species 
(Agaricus  casarius,  Scop.*),  which  belongs  to  the  same  subgenus 
as  the  very  deleterious  fly-agaric,  and  the  scarcely  less  fatal 
Agaricus  vernus,  Ball.  It  is  universally  eaten  on  the  continent, 
but  has  hitherto  never  been  found  in  Great  Britain.  In  the 
same  subgenus,  Agaricus  strobiliformis^  Fr.,  which  is  rare  in  this 
country,  and  probably  also  Agaricus  Cecilice,  B.  &  Br.  J  Besides 
these,  Agaricus  excoriatus,  Scheeff.,  Agaricus  inastoideus,  Fr., 
Agaricus  gracilentus,  Kromb.,  and  Agaricus  Tiolosericeus,  Fr.,§ 
all  belonging  to  the  same  subgenus  as  the  parasol  mushroom, 
more  or  less  uncommon  in  England. 

Although  the  larger  number  of  esculent  agarics  are  white- 
spored,  some  few,  worthy  of  note,  will  be  found  in  the  other 
sections,  and  notably  amongst  these  the  common  mushroom  and 
its  congener  the  meadow,  or  horse  mushroom.  In  addition  to 
those  already  enumerated,  might  be  included  also  the  Agaricus 
pudicuSj  Bull,  which  is  certainly  wholesome,  as  well  as  its  ally, 
Agaricus  leochromus,  Cooke,||  both  of  which  have  rusty  spores. 

The  late  Dr.  Curtis,^]"  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley, 
enumerates  several  of  the  fungi  which  are  edible  amongst  those 
found  in  the  United  States.  Of  these,  he  says,  Agaricus  amyg- 
dalinus,  Curt.,  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  when  cooked  from 
the  common  mushroom.  Agaricus  frumentaceus.  Bull,  and  three 
allied  new  species,  peculiar  to  the  United  States,  are  commended. 
Agaricus  c&spitosus,  Curt.,  he  says,  is  found  in  enormous  quanti- 
ties, a  single  cluster  containing  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  stems, 
and  might  well  be  deemed  a  valuable  species  in  times  of  scarcity. 
It  would  not  be  highly  esteemed  where  other  and  better  species 
can  be  had,  but  it  is  generally  preferred  to  Agaricus  melleus,  Fr. 
It  is  suitable  for  drying  for  winter  use.  In  the  same  communi- 
cation, he  observes  that  the  imperial  (Agaricus  c&sarius,  Scop.), 

*  Krombholz,  "  Schwiimme,"  t.  8.    Vittadini,  "Mang."  t.  1. 

t  Vittadini,  "Mangerecci,"  t.  9. 

t  Berkeley,  "Outlines,"  pi.  3,  fig.  5. 

§  Saunders  and  Smith,  "  Mycological  Illustr."  pi.  23. 

||   Cooke,  M.  C.,  "  Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  fig.  2. 

f  "  Gardener's  Chrooicle"  (1869),  p.  1060. 


USES.  89 

grows  in  great  quantities  in  oak  forests,  and  may  be  obtained 
by  the  cart-load  in  its  season ;  but  to  his  taste,  and  that  of  his 
family,  it  is  the  most  unpalatable  of  fungi,  nor  could  he  find  any 
of  the  most  passionate  mycophagists  who  would  avow  that  they 
liked  it.  There  is  a  disagreeable  saline  flavour  that  they  could 
not  remove  nor  overlay.  In  addition  to  these,  the  same  autho- 
rity enumerates  Agaricus  russula,  Scheeff.,  Agaricus  Jiypopiihyus, 
Curt.,  and  Agaricus  consociatus,  Curt.,  the  latter  two  being  con- 
fined to  the  United  States  ;  Agaricus  columbetta,  Fr.,  found  in 
Britain,  but  not  eaten,  as  well  as  Agaricus  radicatus,  Bull.  Agari- 
cus  bombi/cinus,  Schseff.,  and  Agaricus  speciosus,  Fr.,  are  found  in 
Britain,  but  by  no  means  common ;  Agaricus  sguarrosus,  Mull., 
has  always  been  regarded  with  great  suspicion  in  this  country, 
where  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  ;  Agaricus  cretaceus,  Fr.,  and 
Agaricus  sylvaticus,  S draff.,  are  close  allies  of  the  common 
mushroom. 

Dr.  Curtis  says  that  hill  and  plain,  mountain  and  valley, 
woods,  fields,  and  pastures,  swarm  with  a  profusion  of  good 
nutritious  fungi,  which  are  allowed  to  decay  where  they  spring 
up,  because  people  do  not  know  how,  or  are  afraid,  to  use  them. 
By  those  of  us  who  know  their  use,  their  value  was  appreciated, 
as  never  before,  during  the  late  war,  when  other  food,  especially 
meat,  was  scarce  and  dear.  Then  such  persons  as  I  have  heard 
express  a  preference  for  mushrooms  over  meat  had  generally  no 
need  to  lack  grateful  food,  as  it  was  easily  had  for  the  gathering, 
and  within  easy  distance  of  their  homes  if  living  in  the  country. 
Such  was  not  always  the  case,  however.  I  remember  once,  during 
the  gloomy  period  when  there  had  been  a  protracted  drought, 
and  fleshy  fungi  were  to  be  found  only  in  damp  shaded  woods, 
and  but  few  even  there,  I  was  unable  to  find  enough  of  any  one 
species  for  a  meal,  so,  gathering  of  every  kind,  I  brought  home 
thirteen  different  kinds,  had  them  all  cooked  together  in  one 
grand  pot  pourri,  and  made  an  excellent  supper. 

One  important  use  to  which  several  species  of  fungi  can  be 
applied,  is  the  manufacture  of  ketchup.  For  this  purpose,  not 
only  is  the  mushroom,  Agaricus  campestris,  and  the  horse  mush- 
room, Agaricus  arvensis,  available,  but  also  Agaricus  rubesccns 


90  FUNGI. 

is  declared  to  be  excellent  for  the  purpose,  and  a  delicious,  but 
pale,  extract  is  to  be  obtained  from.  Marasmius  oreades.  Other 
species,  as  Coprinus  cornciius,  and  Coprinus  atramentarius,  are 
also  available,  together  with  Fistulina  hepatica,  and  Morchella 
esculenta.  In  some  districts,  when  mushrooms  are  scarce,  it  is 
stated  that  almost  any  species  that  will  yield  a  dark  juice  is 
without  scruple  mixed  with  the  common  mushroom,  and  it 
should  seem  without  any  bad  consequence  except  the  deteriora- 
tion of  the  ketchup.*  There  is  an  extensive  manufacture  of 
ketchup  conducted  at  Lubbenham,  near  Market  Harborough, 
but  the  great  difficulty  appears  to  be  the  prevention  of  decom- 
position. Messrs.  Perkins  receive  tons  of  mushrooms  from 
every  part  of  the  kingdom,  and  they  find,  even  in  the  same 
species,  an  immense  difference  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of 
the  produce.  The  price  of  mushrooms  varies  greatly  with  the 
season,  ranging  between  one  penny  and  sixpence  per  pound. 
Messrs.  Perkins  are  very  careful  in  their  selection,  but  little 
discrimination  is  used  by  country  manufacturers  on  a  small 
scale,  who  use  such  doubtful  species  as  Agaricus  lacrymabundus, 
with  Agaricus  spadiceus,  and  a  host  of  allied  species,  which  they 
Characterize  as  nonpareils  and  champignons.  In  the  eastern 
counties  Agaricus  arvensis  has  the  preference  for  ketchup. 

The  generic  distinctions  between  the  genuine  Agarics  and 
some  of  the  allied  genera  can  hardly  be  appreciated  by  the  non- 
botanical  reader,  but  we  have  nevertheless  preferred  grouping 
the  edible  species  together  in  a  somewhat  botanical  order ;  and, 
pursuing  this  plan,  the  next  species  will  be  those  of  Coprinus, 
in  which  the  gills  are  deliquescent  after  the  plant  has  arrived 
at  maturity.  The  maned  mushroom  (Coprinus  comatus,  Fr.)f 
is  the  best  of  edible  species  in  this  group.  It  is  very  common 
here  by  roadsides  and  other  places,  and  whilst  still  young  and 
cylindrical,  and  the  gills  still  whitish  or  with  a  roseate  tint,  it 
is  highly  to  be  commended.  Similar,  but  perhaps  somewhat 
inferior,  is  Coprinus  atramentarius,  Fr.,J  equally  common  about 

*  Berkeley,  "  Outlines  of  British  Fungology,"  p.  64. 
t  Cooke,  "Easy  Guide  to  British  Fungi,"  pi.  11. 

*  Ibid.,  pi.  12. 


USES.  91 

old  stumps  and  on  the  naked  soil.  Both  species  are  also  found 
and  eaten  in  the  United  States. 

In  Cortinarius^  the  veil  is  composed  of  arachnoid  tnreads,  and 
the  spores  are  rusty.  The  number  of  edible  species  are  few. 
Foremost  is  the  really  handsome  Cortinarius  violaeus,  Fr.,*  often 
nearly  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  of  a  beautiful  violet  colour; 
and  the  smaller  Cortinarius  castaneus,  Fr.,t  scarcely  exceeding  an 
inch  in  diameter,  both  being  found  in  woods,  and  common  alike 
to  Britain  and  the  United  States.  Cortinarius  cinnamomeus,  Fr., 
is  also  a  lover  of  woods,  and  in  northern  latitudes  is  found  in- 
habiting them  everywhere.  It  has  a  cinnamon-coloured  pileus, 
with  yellowish  flesh,  and  its  odour  and  flavour  is  said  to  partake 
of  the  same  spice.  In  Germany  it  is  held  in  high  esteem.  Cor- 
tinarius emodensis,  B.,  is  eaten  in  Northern  India. 

The  small  genus  Lepista  of  Smith  (which,  however,  is  not 
adopted  by  Fries  in  his  new  edition  of  the  "  Epicrisis  ")  includes 
one  esculent  species  in  Lepista  personata,  the  Agaricus  personatus 
of  Fries.  J  It  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Northern  Europe 
or  America,  frequently  growing  in  large  rings ;  the  pileus  is 
pallid,  and  the  stem  stained  with  lilac.  Formerly  it  was  said 
to  be  sold  in  Covent  Garden  Market  under  the  name  of  "blewits," 
but  we  have  failed  to  see  or  hear  of  it  duiing  many  years  in 
London. 

Small  fungi  of  ivory- white  ness  are  very  common  amongst 
grass  on  lawns  in  autumn.  These  are  chiefly  HygropJioms 
virgineus,  Fr.,§  and  although  not  much  exceeding  an  inch  in 
diameter,  with  a  short  stem,  and  wide  decurrent  gills,  they  are 
so  plentiful  in  season  that  quantity  soon  compensates  for  the 
small  size.  Except  that  it  is  occasionally  eaten  in  France,  it 
does  not  enjoy  much  reputation  abroad.  A  larger  species,  vary- 
ing from  buff  to  orange,  HygropTiorit-s  pratensis,  Fr.,||  is  scarcely 
less  common  in  open  pastures.  This  is  very  gregarious  in  habit, 

*  Hiisscy,  "Mycol.  Illust/'  pi.  12. 

t  Bulliard,  " Champ."  t.  268. 

t  Cooke,  "Easy  Guide,"  pi.  4,  fig.  1;  Husscy,  "  Illust."  vol.  ii.  pi.  40. 

§  Greville,  "  Scot.  Crypt.  Flora,"  t.  166. 

II  Ibid.,  t.  91. 


92  FUNGI. 

often  growing  in  tufts,  or  portions  of  rings.  The  pileus  is  fleshy 
in  the  centre,  and  the  gills  thick  and  decurrent.  In  France, 
Germany,  Bohemia,  and  Denmark,  it  is  included  with  esculent 
species.  In  addition  may  be  mentioned  Hygropliorus  eburneus, 
Fr.,  another  white  species,  as  also  Hygropliorus  niveus,  Fr.,  which 
grows  in  mossy  pastures.  Paxillus  involutus,  Fr.,*  though  very 
common  in  Europe,  is  not  eaten,  yet  it  is  included  by  Dr.  Curtis 
with  the  esculent  species  of  the  United  States. 

The  milky  agarics,  belonging  to  the  genus  Lactarius,  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  milky  juice  which  is  exuded  when  they  are 
wounded.  The  spores  are  more  or  less  globose,  and  rough  or 
echinulate,  at  least  in  many  species.  The  most  notable  esculent 
is  Lactarius  deliciosus,  Fr.,1*  in  which  the  milk  is  at  first  saffron- 
red,  and  afterwards  greenish,  the  plant  assuming  a  lurid  greenish 
hue  wherever  bruised  or  broken.  Universal  commendation  seems 
to  fall  upon  this  species,  writers  vying  with  each  other  to  say 
the  best  in  its  praise,  and  mycophagists  everywhere  endorsing 
the  assumption  of  its  name,  declaring  it  to  be  delicious.  It  is 
found  in  the  markets  of  Paris,  Berlin,  Prague,  and  Vienna,  as 
we  are  informed,  and  in  Sweden,  Denmark,  Switzerland,  Russia, 
Belgium  ;  in  fact,  in  nearly  all  countries  in  Europe  it  is  esteemed. 

Another  esculent  species,  Lactarius  volemum,  Fr.,J  has  white 
milk,  which  is  mild  to  the  taste,  whilst  in  deleterious  species 
with  white  milk  it  is  pungent  and  acrid.  This  species  has  been 
celebrated  from  early  times,  and  is  said  to  resemble  lamb's 
kidney. 

Lactarius  piper  atus,  Fr.,  is  classed  in  England  with  dangerous, 
sometimes  poisonous  species,  whereas  the  late  Dr.  Curtis,  of 
North  Carolina,  has  distinctly  informed  us  that  it  is  cooked  and 
eaten  in  the  United  States,  and  that  he  has  partaken  of  it.  He 
includes  Lactarius  insulsus,  Fr.,  and  Lactarius  subdulcis,  Fr.,§ 
amongst  esculent  species ;  both  are  also  found  in  this  country, 

*  Sowerby,  "Fungi,"  pi.  56  ;  Schseffer,  "Icones  Bav."  t.  72. 
f  Trattinnick,  L.,  "Die  Essbaren  Schwamme"  (1809),  p.  82,  pi.  M;  Barla, 
J.  BM  "Champignons  de  la  Nice"  (1859),  p.  34,  pi.  19. 
i  Smith,  "Edible  Mushrooms,"  fig.  26. 
§  Barla,  "Champ.  Nice,"  t.  20,  f.  4-10. 


USES.  93 

but  not  reputed  as  edible ;  and  Lactarius  angustissimus,  Lasch, 
which  is  not  British.  Species  of  Lactarius  seem  to-be  eaten 
almost  indiscriminately  in  Russia  when  preserved  in  vinegar  and 
salt,  in  which  condition  they  form  an  important  item  in  the 
kinds  of  food  allowed  in  their  long  fasts,  some  Boleti  in  the 
dried  state  entering  into  the  same  category. 

The  species  of  Russula  in  many  respects  resemble  Lactarii 
without  milk.  Some  of  them  are  dangerous,  and  others  escu- 
lent. Amongst  the  latter  may  be  enumerated  Russula  heterophylla, 
Fr.,  which  is  very  common  in  woods.  Vittadini  pronounces  it 
unsurpassed  for  fineness  of  flavour  by  even  the  notable  Amanita 
ccesarea*  Roques  gives  also  an  account  in  its  favour  as  con- 
sumed in  France.  Both  these  authors  give  favourable  accounts 
of  Hussula  virescens,  P.,f  which  the  peasants  about  Milan  are 
in  the  habit  of  putting  over  wood  embers  to  toast,  and  eating 
afterwards  with  a  little  salt.  Unfortunately  it  is  by  no  means 
common  in  England.  A  third  species  of  Russula,  with  buff- 
yellow  gills,  is  JRussula  alutacea,  Fr.,  which  is  by  no  means  to 
be  despised,  notwithstanding  that  Dr.  Badham  has  placed  it 
amongst  species  to  be  avoided.  Three  or  four  others  have  also 
the  merit  of  being  harmless,  and  these  recorded  as  esculent  by 
some  tme  or  more  mycological  authors :  Rwsula  lactea,  Fr.,  a 
white  species,  found  also  in  the  United  States  ;  Russula  lepida, 
Fr.,  a  roseate  species,  found  also  in  lower  Carolina,  U.S. ;  and 
another  reddish  species,  Rmsula  vesca,  Fr.,  as  well  as  Russula 
decolorans,  Fr.  Whilst  writing  of  this  genus,  we  may  observe, 
by  way  of  caution,  that  it  includes  also  one  very  noxious  red 
species,  Eussula  emetica,  Fr.,  with  white  gills,  with  which  some 
of  the  foregoing  might  be  confounded  by  inexperienced  persons. 

The  chantarelle  Caniliarellus  cibarius,  Fr.,  has  a  most  charm- 
ing and  enticing  appearance  and  odour.  In  colour,  it  is  of  a 
bright  golden  yellow,  arid  its  smell  has  been  compared  to  that  of 
ripe  apricots.  It  is  almost  universally  eaten  in  all  countries 

*  Vittadini,  C.,  "  Funghi  Mangereoci"  (1835),  p.  209;  Barla,  "Champ. 
Nice,"  pi.  i. 

t  Vittadini,  C.,  "  Fungbi  Mangerecci,"p.  245  ;  Roques,  "  Champ.  Comest." 
p.  86. 


94  FUNGI. 

where  it  is  found,  England  excepted,  where  it  is  only  to  be 
met  with  at  the  "Freemason's  Tavern  "  on  state  occasions,  and 
at  the  tables  of  pertinacious  mycophagists.*  Trattinnick  says : 
"  Not  only  this  same  fungus  never  did  any  one  harm,  but  might 
even  restore  the  dead."t 

The  fairy-ring  champignon  Marasmius  oreades,  Fr.,  though 
small,  is  plentiful,  and  one  of  the  most  delicious  of  edible  fungi. 
It  grows  in  exposed  pastures,  forming  rings,  or  parts  of  rings. 
This  champignon  possesses  the  advantage  of  drying  readily, 
and  preserving  its  aroma  for  a  long  time.  We  have  often 
regretted  that  no  persistent  attempts  and  experiments  have 
been  made  with  the  view  of  cultivating  this  excellent  and  useful 
species.  Marasmius  scorodonius,  Fr.,J  a  small,  strong-scented, 
and  in  all  respects  inferior  species,  found  on  heaths  and  dry 
pastures,  extending  even  to  the  United  States,  is  consumed  in 
Germany,  Austria,  and  other  continental  countries,  where,  per- 
haps its  garlic  odour  has  been  one  of  its  recommendations  as 
an  ingredient  in  sauces.  In  this  enumeration  we  have  not  ex- 
hausted all  the  gill-bearing  species  which  might  be  eaten,  having 
included  only  those  which  have  some  reputation  as  esculents, 
and  of  these  more  particularly  those  found  in  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  % 

Amongst  the  Polyporei,  in  which  the  gill  plates  are  represented 
by  pores  or  tubes,  fewer  esculent  species  are  to  be  met  with  than 
in  the  Agaricini,  and  the  majority  of  these  belong  to  the  genus 
Boletus.  Whilst  in  Vienna  and  Hanover,  we  were  rather 
surprised  to  find  Boletus  edulis,  Fr.,  cut  into  thin  slices  and 
dried,  exposed  for  sale  in  almost  every  shop  where  meal,  peas, 
and  other  farinaceous  edibles  were  sold.  This  species  is  com- 
mon enough  in  England,  but*as  a  rule  it  does  not  seem  to  please 
the  English  palate,  whereas  on  the  continent  no  fungus  is  more 
commonly  eaten.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  suillus  eaten  by 
the  ancient  Romans, §  who  obtained  it  from  Bithynia.  The 

*  Badham,  Dr,  "Esculent  Funguses  of  Britain,"  2nd  ed.  p.  110;  Hussey, 
"Illust.  Brit.  Mycol."  1st  ser.  pi.  4  ;  Barla,  "  Champ."  pi.  28,  f.  7-15. 

•h  Trattinnick,  L.,  "Essbaren  Schwamme,"  p.  98. 

J  Lenz,  "  Die  Niitzlichen  und  Schadlichen  Schwamme,"  p.  49. 

§  Badham,  "  Esculent  Funguses  of  Great  Britain,"  2  ed.  p.  91. 


USES.  95 

modern  Italians  dry  them  on  strings  for  winter  use,  and  in 
Hungary  a  soup  is  made  from  them  when  fresh.  -  A  more 
excellent  species,  according  to  our  judgment,  is  Boletus  cestivalis, 
Fr.,*  which  appears  in  early  summer,  and  has  a  peculiar  nutty 
flavour  when  raw,  reminding  one  more  of  a  fresh  mushroom. 
Boletus  scaber,  Fr.,t  is  also  common  in  Britain,  as  well  as  the 
continent,  but  does  not  enjoy  so  good  a  reputation  as  B.  edulis. 
Krombholz  says  that  Boletus  bovinus,  Fr.,  a  gregarious  species, 
found  on  heaths  and  in  fir  woods,  is  much  sought  after  abroad 
as  a  dish,  and  is  good  when  dried.  Boletus  castaneus,  Fr.,J  is 
a  small  species  with  a  mild,  pleasant  taste  when  raw,  and  very 
good  when  properly  cooked.  It  is  not  uncommonly  eaten  on 
the  continent.  Boletus  chrysenteron,  Fr.,§  and  Boletus  subtomen- 
tosus,  Fr.,  are  said  to  be  very  poor  eating,  and  some  authors 
have  considered  them  injurious ;  bat  Mr.  W.  G.  Smith  states 
that  he  has  on  more  than  one  occasion  eaten  the  former,  and 
Trattinnick  states  that  the  latter  is  eaten  in  Germany.  The  late 
Mr.  Salter  informed  us  that,  when  employed  on  the  geological 
staff,  he  at  one  time  lived  almost  entirely  on  different  species  of 
Boleti,  without  using  much  discrimination.  Sir  W.  C.  Trevelyan 
also  informs  us  that  he  has  eaten  Boletus  lurdius  without  any 
unpleasant  consequences,  but  we  confess  that  we  should  be  sorry 
to  repeat  the  experiment.  Dr.  Badham  remarks  that  he  has 
eaten.  Boletus  Grevillei,  B.,  Boletus  Jlavus,  With.,  and  Boletus 
yranulatus,  L.,  the  latter  being  recognized  also  as  edible  abroad. 
Dr.  Curtis  experimented,  in  the  United  States,  on  Boletus  col- 
Unit  us,  and  although  he  professes  not  to  be  particularly  fond  of 
the  Boleti,  he  recognizes  it  as  esculent,  and  adds  that  it  had  been 
pronounced  delicious  by  some  to  whom  he  had  sent  it.  He  also 
enumerates  as  edible  Boletus  luteus,  Fr.,  Boletus  elegans,  Fr., 
Boletus flavidus,  Fr.,  Boletus  versipellis,  Fr.,  Boletus  leucomelas, 
Tr.,  and  Boletus  ovinus,  Sch.  Two  Italian  species  of  Polyporus 
must  not  be  forgotten.  These  are  Polyporus  tuberaster,  Pers., 

*  Hussey,  "  Myc.  Illus."  ii.  pi.  25  ;  Paulet,  "Champ."  t.  170. 

t  Barla,  J.  B.,  "Champ,  de  la  Nice,"  p.  71,  pi.  35,  f.  1-5. 

J  Hussey,  "  Illustr."  ii.  t.  17  ;  Barla,  "  Champ.  Nice,"  t.  32,  f.  11-15. 

§  Hussey,  "Illustr."  i.  t.  5  ;  Krombholz,  "  Schwamme,"  t.  76. 


96  FUNGI. 

which  is  procured  by  watering  the  pietra  fungliaia^  or  fungus 
stone,  a  kind  of  tufa,  in  which  the  mycelium  is  embedded.  It 
is  confined  to  Naples.  The  other  species  is  Polyporus  corylinus, 
Mauri.,  procured  artificially  in  Rome  from  charred  stumps  of  the 
cob-nut  tree.* 

Of  true  Polyporus,  only  two  or  three  species  have  been 
regarded  favourably  as  esculents.  These  are — Polyporus  inty- 
baceus,  Fr.,  which  is  of  very  large  size,  sometimes  attaining  as 
much  as  forty  pounds  ;  Polyporus  giganteus,  Fr.,  also  very  large, 
and  leathery  when  old.  Both  these  species  are  natives  of 
Britain.  Only  young  and  juicy  specimens  musfc  be  selected  for 
cooking.  Polyporus  umbellatus,  Fr.,  is  stated  by  Fries  to  be 
esculent,  but  it  is  not  found  in  Britain.  Polyporus  sg/uamosus, 
Fr.,  has  been  also  included ;  but  Mrs.  Hussey  thinks  that  one 
might  as  well  think  of  eating  saddle-flaps.  None  of  these 
receive  very  much  commendation.  Dr.  Curtis  enumerates, 
amongst  North  American  species,  the  Polyporus  cristatus,  Fr., 
Polyporus  poripes,  Fr.,  which,  when  raw,  tastes  like  the  best 
chestnuts  or  filberts,  but  is  rather  too  dry  when  cooked. 
Polyporus  Berkeleii,  Fr.,  is  intensely  pungent  when  raw,  but 
when  young,  and  before  the  pores  are  visible,  it  may  be  eaten 
with  impunity,  all  its  pungency  being  dissipated  by  cooking. 
Polyporus  confluens,  Fr.,  he  considers  superior,  and,  in  fact, 
quite  a  favourite.  Polyporus  sulfureus,  Fr.,  which  is  not  eaten  in 
Europe,  he  considers  just  tolerably  safe,  but  not  to  be  coveted. 
It  is  by  no  means  to  be  recommended  to  persons  with  weak 
stomachs.  In  his  catalogue,  Dr.  Curtis  enumerates  one  hundred 
and  eleven  species  of  edible  fungi  found  in  Carolina,  f 

With  Fistulina  hepatica,  Fr.,  it  is  different;  for  here  we 
encounter  a  fleshy,  juicy  fungus,  resembling  beefsteak  a  little  in 
appearance,  and  so  much  more  in  its  uses,  that  the  name  of 
"beefsteak  fungus"  has  been  given  to  it.  Some  authors  are 
rapturous  in  their  praise  of  Fistulina.  It  sometimes  attains  a 
very  large  size,  Dr.  Badham  quoting  J  one  found  by  himself 

*  Badham's  "  Esculent  Funguses,"  1st  ed.  pp.  116  and  120. 

t  Catalogue  of  Plants  of  Carolina,  U.S. 

J  Badham,  Dr.,  "Esculent  Funguses,"  2nd  ed.  p.  128;  Hussey,  "Illustra- 


USES.  97 

nearly  five  feet  in  circumference,  and  weighing  eight  pounds ; 
whilst  another  found  by  Mr.  Graves  weighed  nearly  thirty 
pounds.  In  Vienna  it  is  sliced  and  eaten  'with  salad,  like  beet- 
root, which  it  then  much  resembles.  On  the  continent  it  is 
everywhere  included  amongst  the  best  of  edible  species. 

The  Hydnei,  instead  of  pores  or  tubes,  are  characterized  by 
spines  or  warts,  over  which  the  fructifying  surface  is  expanded. 
The  most  common  is  Hydnum  repandum,  Fr.,  found  in  woods 
and  woody  places  in  England,  and  on  the  continent,  extending 
into  the  United  States.  When  raw,  it  is  peppery  to  the  taste, 
but  when  cooked  is  much  esteemed.  From  its  drier  nature,  it 
can  readily  be  dried  for  winter  use.  Less  common  in  England 
is  Hydnum  imlricatum,  Fr.,  although  not  so  uncommon  on  the 
continent.  It  is  eaten  in  Germany,  Austria,  Switzerland, 
France,  and  elsewhere.  Hydnum  Icevigatum,  Swartz,  is  eaten  in 
Alpine  districts.*  Of  the  branched  species,  Hydnum  coralloides, 
Scop.,t  and  Hydnum  Caput  Medusa,  Bull,J  are  esculent,  but  very 
rare  in  England.  The  latter  is  not  uncommon  in  Austria  and 
Italy,  the  former  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  France.  Hydnum 
erinaceum,  Bull,  is  eaten  in  Germany  §  and  France. 

The  Clavarioid  fungi  are  mostly  small,  but  of  these  the  ma- 
jority of  the  white-spored  are  edible.  Clavaria  rugosa,  Bull,  is  a 
common  British  species,  as  also  is  Clavaria  coralloides,  L.,  the 
former  being  found  also  in  the  United  .States.  Clavaria  fasti- 
giata,  D.  C.,  is  not  uncommon ;  but  Clavaria  ametJiystina,  Bull,  a 
beautiful  violet  species,  is  rare.  In  France  and  Italy,  Clavaria 
cinerea,  Bull,  is  classed  with  esculents ;  and  it  is  not  uncommon 
in  Britain.  Clavaria  botrytis,  P.,  and  Clavaria  aurea,  Schaeff., 
are  large  and  beautiful  species,  but  rare  with  us ;  they  extend 
also  into  the  United  States.  Others  might  be  named  (Dr. 
Curtis  enumerates  thirteen  species  eaten  in  Carolina),  which  are 

lions,"  1st  ser.  pi.  65  ;  Berkeley,  in  "  Gard.  Chron."  (1861),  p.  121 ;  Bull,  in 
"  Trans.  Woolhope  Club"  (1869). 

*  Barla,  "  Champ.  Nice,"  p.  79,  pi.  38,  f.  5,  6. 

t  Roques,  1.  c.  p.  48. 

J  Lenz,  p.  93  ;  Roques,  1.  c.  p.  47,  pi.  2,  fig.  5. 

§  Lenz,  H.  0.,  "Die  Nutzlichen  und  Schadlichen  Schwiimme,"  p.  93. 


98  FUNGI. 

certainly  wholesome,  but  they  are  of  little  importance  as  edible 
species.  Sparassis  crispa,  Fr.,  is,  on  the  contrary,  very  large, 
resembling  in  size,*  and  somewhat  in  appearance,  a  cauliflower  ; 
it  has  of  late  years  been  found  several  times  in  this  country. 
In  Austria  it  is  fricasseed  with  butter  and  herbs. 

Of  the  true  Tremellae,  none  merit  insertion  here.  The  curious 
Jew's  ear  (Hirneola  auricula- Judce,  Fr.),  with  one  or  two  other 
species  of  Hirneola,  are  collected  in  great  quantities  in  Tahiti, 
and  shipped  in  a  dried  state  to  China,  where  they  are  used  for 
soup.  Some  of  these  find  their  way  to  Singapore. 

The  false  truffles  (Hypogai)  are  of  doubtful  value,  one  species 
(Melanogaster  variegatus,  Tul.)  having  formerly  been  sold  in  the 
markets  of  Bath  as  a  substitute  for  the  genuine  truffle.f  Neither 
amongst  the  PJialloidei  do  we  meet  with  species  of  any  economic 
value.  The  gelatinous  volva  of  a  species  of  Ileodictyon  is  eaten 
by  the  New  Zealanders,  to  whom  it  is  known  as  thunder  dirt ; 
whilst  that  of  Phallus  MoJcusin  is  applied  to  a  like  purpose  in 
China  ;|  but  these  examples  would  not  lead  us  to  recommend  a 
similar  use  for  Phallus  impudicus,  Fr.,  in  Britain,  or  induce  us 
to  prove  the  assertion  of  a  Scotch  friend  that  the  porous  stem  is 
very  good  eating. 

One  species  of  puff-ball,  Lycoperdon  giganteum,  Fr  ,§  has 
many  staunch  advocates,  and  whilst  young  and  cream-like,  it  is, 
when  well  manipulated,  an  excellent  addition  to  the  breakfast- 
table.  A  decided  advantage  is  possessed  by  this  species,  since 
one  specimen  is  often  found  large  enough  to  satisfy  the  appetites 
of  ten  or  twelve  persons.  Other  species  of  Lycoperdon  have 
been  eaten  when  young,  and  we  have  been  assured  by  those 
who  have  made  the  experiment,  that  they  are  scarcely  inferior 
to  their  larger  congener.  Bovista  nigrescens^  Fr.,  and  Bovista 
plumbea,  Fr.,  are  also  eaten  in  the  United  States.  More  than 
one  species  of  Lycoperdon  and  Bovista  appear  in  the  bazaars  of 
India,  as  at  Secunderabad  and  Rangoon ;  while  the  white  ant- 

*  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  in  "Intellectual  Observer,"  No.' 25,  pi.  T. 
t  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "Outlines  of  British  Fungology,"  p.  293. 
J  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  "Introduction  to  Crypt.  Bot."  p.  347. 
§  Cooke,  M.  C.,  "A  Plain  and  Easy  Guide,"  &c.,  p.  96. 


USES.  99 

hills,  together  with  an  excellent  Agaric,  produce  one  or  more 
species  of  Podaxon  which  are  esculent  when  young.  -A  species 
of  Scleroderma  which  grows  abundantly  in  sandy  districts,  is 
substituted  for  truffles  in  Perigord  pies,  of  which,  however,  it 
does  not  possess  any  of  the  aroma. 

Passing  over  the  rest  of  the  sporiferous  fungi,  we  find 
amongst  the  Ascomycetous  group  several  that  are  highly  esteemed. 
Amongst  these  may  first  be  named  the  species  of  morel,  which 
are  regarded  as  delicacies  wherever  they  are  found.  Morchella 
esculenta,  Pers.,  is  the  most  common  species,  but  we  have  also 


FIG.  43.— Morchella  gigaspora,  from  Kashmir. 

Morchella  scmilibera,  D.  C.,  and  the  much  larger  Morchella 
crassipes,  Pers.  Probably  all  the  species  of  Morchella  are 
esculent,  and  we  know  that  many  besides  the  above  are  eaten 
in  Europe  and  other  places ;  Morchella  deliciosa,  Fr.,  in  Java ; 
Morchella  bohemica,  Kromb.,  in  Bohemia  ;  Morchella  giqaspora, 
Cooke,  and  Morchella  deliciosa,  Fr.,  in  Kashmere.*  Morchella 
rimosipes,  D.  C.,  occurs  in  France  and  Bohemia;  Morchella 

*  Cooke,  M.  C.,  "On  Kashmir  Morels,"  in  "Trans.  Bot.  Soc.  Edin."  vol.  x. 
p.  439,  with  figs. 


100  FUNGI. 

Caroliniana,  Bosc.,  in  the  Southern  United  States  of  America. 
W.  G.  Smith  records  the  occurrence  in  Britain  of  specimens  of 
Morchella  crassipes,  P.,  ten  inches  in  height,  and  one  specimen 
was  eleven  inches  high,  with  a  diameter  of  seven  and  a  half 
inches.* 

Similar  in  uses,  though  differing  in  appearance,  are  the  species 
of  Helvella,  of  which  several  are  edible.  In  both  these  genera, 
the  individuals  can  be  dried  so  readily  that  they  are  the  more 
valuable  on  that  account,  as  they  can  be  used  for  flavouring  in 
winter  when  fresh  specimens  of  any  kind  of  fungus  are  diffi- 
cult to  procure.  The  most  common  English  species  is  Hel- 
vella crispa,  Fr.,  but  Helvella  lacunosa,  Fr.,  is  declared  to  be 
equally  good,  though  not  so  large  and  somewhat  rare.  Helvella 
infula,  Fr.,  is  also  a  large  species,  but  is  not  British,  although  it 
extends  to  North  America,  as  also  does  Helvella  sulcata,  Afz. 
Intermediate  between  the  morel  and  Helvella  is  the  species 
which  was  formerly  included  with  the  latter,  but  now  known  as 
Gyromitra  esculenta,  Fr.f  It  is  rarely  found  in  Great  Britain, 
but  is  more  common  on  the  continent,  where  it  is  held  in  esteem. 
A  curious  stipitate  fungus,  with  a  pileus  like  a  hood,  called 
Verpa  digitaliformis,  Pers.,J  is  uncommon  in  England,  but 
Vittadini  states  that  it  is  sold  in  the  Italian  markets,  although 
only  to  be  recommended  when  no  other  esculent  fungus  offers, 
which  is  sometimes  the  case  in  spring.  § 

Two  or  three  species  of  Peziza  have  the  reputation  of  being 
esculent,  but  they  are  of  very  little  value ;  one  of  these  is  Peziza 
acetdbulum,  L.,  another  is  Peziza  cocJileata,  Huds.,  and  a  third 
is  Peziza  venosa,  Pers.||  The  latter  has  the  most  decided  nitrous 
odour,  and  also  fungoid  flavour,  whilst  the  former  seem  to  have 
but  little  to  recommend  them  ;  we  have  seen  whole  baskets  full 
of  Peziza  cocJileata  gathered  in  Northamptonshire  as  a  substitute 
for  morels. 

A  very  interesting  genus  of  edible  fungi,  growing  on  ever- 

*  Smith,  "  Journ.  Bot."  vol.  ix.  p.  214. 

f  Cooke,  "  Handbook,"  fig.  322. 

$  Cooke,  "  Handbook,"  fig.  324. 

§  Vittadini,  C.,  "  Funghi  Mangerecci,"  p.  117. 

||   Greville,  "Sc.  Crypt.  FL"  pi.  156. 


USES.  101 

green  beech  trees  in  South  America,  has  been  named  Cyttaria. 
One  of  these,  Cyttaria  JDarwinii,  B.,  occurs  in  Terra  del  Fuego, 
where  it  was  found  by  Mr.  C.  Darwin*  growing  in  vast  numbers, 
and  forming  a  very  essential  article  of  food  for  the  natives. 
Another  is  Cyttaria  JBerteroi,  B.,  also  seen  by  Mr.  Darwin  in 
Chili,  and  eaten  occasionally,  but  apparently  not  so  good  as 
the  preceding.!  Another  species  is  Cyttaria  Gunnii,  B.,  which 
abounds  in  Tasmania,  and  is  held  in  repute  amongst  the  settlers 
for  its  esculent  proper  ties.  J 


FIG.  44.— Cyttaria  Gunnii,  B. 

It  remains  for  us  only  to  note  the  subterranean  fungi,  of  which 
the  truffle  is  the  type,  to  complete  our  enumeration  of  esculent 
species.  The  truffle  which  is  consumed  in  England  is  Tuber 
cestivum,  Vitt. ;  but  in  France  the  more  highly-flavoured  Tuber 
melanospermum,  Vitt.,§  and  also  Tuber  magnatum,  Pico,  with 
some  other  species.  In  Italy  they  are  very  common,  whilst 
some  are  found  in  Algeria.  One  species  at  least  is  recorded  in 
the  North-west  of  India,  but  in  Northern  Europe  and  North 
America  they  appear  to  be  rare,  and  Terfezia  Leonis  is  used  as 
an  esculent  in  Damascus.  A  large  species  of  Mylitta,  sometimes 
several  inches  in  diameter,  occurs  plentifully  in  some  parts  of 
Australia.  Although  often  included  with  fungi,  the  curious 
production  known  under  the  name  of  fachyma  cocos,  Fr.,  is  not 

*  Berkeley,  in  "Linn.  Trans."  xix.  p.  37;  Cooke,  in  "Technologist"  (1864), 
p.  387. 

t  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  in  "  Linn.  Trans."  xix.  p.  37. 

J  Berkeley,  M.  J.,  in  "Hooker,  Flora  Antarctica,"  p.  147;  in  "Hooker's 
Journ.  Bot."  (1848),  576,  t.  20,  21. 

§  Vittadmi,  C.,  "  Monographia  Tuberacearum     (1831),  pp.  36,  &c. 


102  FUNGI. 

a  fungus,  as  proved  by  the  examinations  made  by  the  Rev.  M.  J, 
Berkeley.  It  is  eaten  under  the  name  of  "Tuckahoe"  in  the 
United  States,  and  as  it  consists  almost  entirely  of  poetic  acid, 
it  is  sometimes  used  in  the  manufacture  of  jelly. 

In  the  Neilgherries  (S.  India),  a  substance  is  occasionally 
found  which  is  allied  to  the  native  bread  of  southern  latitudes. 
It  is  found  at  an  elevation  of  5,000  feet.  The  natives  call  it 
"  a  little  man's  bread,"  in  allusion  to  the  tradition  that  the  Neil- 
gherries  were  once  peopled  by  a  race  of  dwarfs.*  At  first  it  was 
supposed  that  these  were  the  bulbs  of  some  orchid,  but  later 
another  view  was  held  of  their  character.  Mr.  Scott,  who 
examined  the  specimens  sent  down  to  him,  remarks  that,  instead 
of  being  the  product  of  orchids,  it  is  that  of  an  underground 
fungus  of  the  genus  Mylitta.  It  indeed  seems,  he  says,  very 
closely  allied  to,  if  really  distinct  from,  the  so-called  native 
bread  of  Tasmania.f 

Of  the  fungi  employed  in  medicine,  the  first  place  must  be 
assigned  to  ergot,  which  is  the  sclerotioid  condition  of  a  species 
of  Claviceps.  It  occurs  not  only  on  rye  but  on  wheat,  and  many 
of  the  wild  grasses.  On  account  of  its  active  principle,  this 
fungus  still  holds  its  place  in  the  Materia  Medtca.  Others  which 
formerly  had  a  reputation  are  now  discarded,  as,  for  instance,  the 
species  of  Elaphomyces  ;  and  Polyporus  officinalis,  Fr.,  which  has 
been  partly  superseded  as  a  styptic  by  other  substances,  was 
formerly  employed  as  a  purgative.  The  ripe  spongy  capillitium 
of  the  great  puff-ball  Lycoperdon  giganteum,  Fr.,  has  been  used 
for  similar  purposes,  and  also  recommended  as  an  anodyne  ; 
indeed  formidable  surgical  operations  have  been  performed  under 
its  influence,  and  it  is  frequently  used  as  a  narcotic  in  the 
taking  of  honey.  Langsdorf  gives  a  curious  account  of  its 
employment  as  a  narcotic ;  and  in  a  recent  work  on  Kamts- 
chatka  it  is  said  to  obtain  a  very  high  price  in  that  country. 
Dr.  Porter  Smith  writes  of  its  employment  medicinally  by  the 
Chinese,  but  from  his  own  specimens  it  is  clearly  a  species  of 
Polysaccum,  which  he  has  mistaken  for  Lycoperdon.  In  China 

*  "Proceedings  Agri.  Hort.  Soc.  India"  (Dec.  1871),  p.  Ixxix. 
f  Ibid.  (June,  1872),  p.  xxiii. 


USES.  103 

several  species  are  supposed  to  possess  great  virtue,  notably  the 
Torrubia  sinensis,  Tul.,*  which  is  developed  on  dead  caterpillars ; 
as  it  is,  however,  recommended  to  administer  it  as  a  stuffing  to 
roast  duck,  we  may  be  sceptical  as  to  its  own  sanitary  qualities. 
Geaster  hygrometricus,  Fr.,  we  have  also  detected  amongst 
Chinese  drugs,  as  also  a  species  of  Polysaccum,  and  the  small 
hard  Mylitta  lapidescens,  Horn.  In  India,  a  large  but  imper- 
fect fungus,  named  provisionally  Sclerotium  stipitatum,  Curr., 
found  in  nests  of  the  white  ant,  is  supposed  to  possess  great 
medicinal  virtues.f  A  species  of  Polyporus  (P.  anthelminticus, 
B.),  which  grows  at  the  root  of  old  bamboos,  is  employed  in 
Burmah  as  an  anthelmintic.J  In  former  times  the  Jew's  ear 
(Hirneola  auricula  Judo?,  Fr.)  was  supposed  to  possess  great 
virtues,  which  are  now  discredited.  Yeast  is  still  included 
amongst  pharmaceutical  substances,  but  could  doubtless  be  very 
well  dispensed  with.  Truffles  are  no  longer  regarded  as  aphro- 
disiacs. 

For  other  uses,  we  can  only  allude  to  amadou,  or  German 
tinder,  which  is  prepared  in  Northern  Europe  from  Polyporus 
fomentarius,  Fr.,  cut  in  slices,  dried,  and  beaten  until  it  is  soft. 
This  substance,  besides  being  used  as  tinder,  is  made  into  warm 
caps,  chest  protectors,  and  other  articles.  This  same,  or  an 
allied  species  of  Polyporus,  probably  P.  igniarius,  Fr.,  is  dried 
and  pounded  as  an  ingredient  in  snuff  by  the  Ostyacks  on 
the  Obi.  In  Bohemia  some  of  the  large  Polyporei,  such  as 
P.  igniarius  and  P.  fomentarius,  have  the  pores  and  part  of  the 
inner  substance  removed,  and  then  the  pileus  is  fastened  in  an 
inverted  position  to  the  wall,  by  the  part  where  originally  it 
adhered  to  the  wood.  The  cavity  is  then  filled  with  mould, 
and  the  fungus  is  used,  with  good  effect,  instead  of  flower-pots, 
for  the  cultivation  of  such  creeping  plants  as  require  but  little 
moisture.  § 

The  barren  mycelioid  condition  of  Penicilliain  crusfaceum, 

*  Lindley,  "Vegetable  Kingdom,"  fig.  xxiv. 
f  Currey,  P.,  in  "Linn.  Trans."  vol.  xxiii.  p.  93. 
J  "Pharmacopeia  of  India,"  p.  258. 
§  "Gard.  Chron."  (1862),  p.  21.' 


104  FUNGI. 

Fr.,  is  employed  in  country  districts  for  the  domestic  manu- 
facture of  vinegar  from  saccharine  liquor,  under  the  name  of 
the  "  vinegar  plant."  It  is  stated  that  Polysaccum  crassipes, 
D.  C.,*  is  employed  in  the  South  of  Europe  to  produce  a  yellow 
dye  ;  whilst  recently  Polyporus  sulfureus,  Fr.,  has  been  recom- 
mended for  a  similar  purpose.  Agaricus  muscarius,  Fr.,  the  fly- 
agaric, known  to  be  an  active  poison,  is  used  in  decoction  in 
some  parts  of  Europe  for  the  destruction  of  flies  and  bugs. 
Probably  JLelotium  ceruginosum,  Fr.,t  deserves  mention  here, 
because  it  stains  the  wood  on  which  it  grows,  by  means  of 
its  diffuse  mycelium,  of  a  beautiful  green  tint,  and  the  wood 
thus  stained  is  employed  for  its  colour  in  the  manufacture  of 
Tonbridge  ware. 

This  completes  the  list,  certainly  of  the  most  important,  of 
the  fungi  which  are  of  any  direct  use  to  humanity  as  food,  medi- 
cine, or  in  the  arts.  As  compared  with  lichens,  the  advantage 
is  certainly  in  favour  of  fungi ;  and  even  when  compared  with 
alga?,  the  balance  appears  in  their  favour.  In  fact,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether,  after  all,  fungi  do  not  present  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  really  useful  species  than  any  other  of  the  crypto- 
gams ;  and  without  any  desire  to  disparage  the  elegance  of 
ferns,  the  delicacy  of  mosses,  the  brilliancy  of  some  alga?,  or 
the  interest  which  attaches  to  lichens,  it  may  be  claimed  for 
fungi  that  in  real  utility  (not  uncombined  with  injuries  as  real) 
they  stand  at  the  head  of  the  cryptogams,  and  in  closest 
alliance  with  the  flowering  plants. 

*  Barla,  "  Champ,  de  la  Nice,"  p.  126,  pi.  47,  fig.  11. 
t  Greville,  "  Scott.  Crypt.  Flora,"  pi.  241. 


y. 

NOTABLE   PHENOMENA. 

THERE  are  no  phenomena  associated  with  fungi  that  are  of 
greater  interest  than  those  which  relate  to  luminosity.  The 
fact  that  fungi  under  some  conditions  are  luminous  has  long 
been  known,  since  schoolboys  in  our  juvenile  days  were  in  the 
habit  of  secreting  fragments  of  rotten  wood  penetrated  by 
mycelium,  in  order  to  exhibit  their  luminous  properties  in  the 
dark,  and  thus  astonish  their  more  ignorant  or  incredulous  fel- 
lows. Rumphius  noted  its  appearance  in  Amboyna,  and  Fries, 
in  his  Observations,  gives  the  name  of  Thelephora  phospliorea 
to  a  species  of  Corticium  now  known  as  Corticium  cceruleum, 
on  account  of  its  phosphorescence  under  certain  conditions. 
The  same  species  is  the  Auricularia  phospliorea  of  Sowerby, 
but  he  makes  no  note  of  its  phosphorescence.  Luminosity  in 
fungi  "  has  been  observed  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  and 
where  the  species  has  been  fully  developed  it  has  been  generally 
a  species  of  Agaricus  which  has  yielded  the  phenomenon."* 
One  of  the  best-known  species  is  the  Agaricus  olearius  of  the 
South  of  Europe,  which  was  examined  by  Tulasne  with  especial 
view  to  its  luminosity.f  In  his  introductory  remarks,  he  says 
that  four  species  only  of  Agaricus  that  are  luminous  appear  afc 
present  to  be  known.  One  of  them,  A.  olearius,  D.  C.,  is  indi- 
genous to  Central  Europe ;  another,  A.  igneus,  Humph.,  comes 
from  Amboyna ;  the  third,  A.  noctileucus.  Lev.,  has  been  dis- 

*  M.  J.  Berkeley,  "Introduction  to  Cryptogamic  Botany,"  p.  265. 
f  Tulasne,  "Sur  la  Phosphorescence  des  Champignons,"   in  "Ann.  des  Sci. 
Nat."  (1848),  vol.  ix  p.  338. 


106  PCNOI. 

covered  at  Manilla  by  Graudichaud,  in  1836  ;  the  last,  A.  Gard- 
nerij  Berk.,  is  produced  in  the  Brazilian  province  of  Goyaz,  upon 
dead  leaves.  As  to  the  Dematium  violaceum,  Pers.,  the  Himantia 
Candida,  Pers.,  cited  once  by  Link,  and  the  ThelepJiora  ccerulea, 
D.  C.  (Corticium  c&ruleum,  Fr.),  Tulasne  is  of  opinion  that  their 
phosphorescent  properties  are  still  problematical;  at  least  no 
recent  observation  corffirms  them. 

The  phosphorescence  of  A.  olearius,  D.  C.,  appears  to  have 
been  first  made  known  by  De  Candolle,  but  it  seems  that  he  was 
in  error  in  stating  that  these  phosphorescent  properties  mani- 
fest themselves  only  at  the  time  of  its  decomposition.  Fries, 
describing  the  Cladosporium  umbrinum,  which  lives  upon  the 
Agaric  of  the  olive-tree,  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Agaric 
only  owes  its  phosphorescence  to  the  presence  of  the  mould. 
This,  however,  Tulasne  denies,  for  he  writes,  "  I  have  had  the 
opportunity  of  observing  that  the  Agaric  of  the  olive  is  really 
phosphorescent  of  itself,  and  that  it  is  not  indebted  to  any 
foreign  production  for  the  light  it  emits."  Like  Delile,  hj 
considers  that  the  fungus  is  only  phosphorescent  up  to  the  time 
when  it  ceases  to  grow ;  thus  the  light  which  it  projects,  one 
might  say,  is  a  manifestation  of  its  vegetation. 

"  It  is  an  important  fact,"  writes  Tulasne,  "which  I  can  con- 
firm, and  which  it  is  important  to  insist  upon,  that  the  phos- 
phorescence is  not  exclusively  confined  to  the  hymenial  surface. 
Numerous  observations  made  by  me  prove  that  the  whole  of  the 
substance  of  the  fungus  participates  very  frequently,  if  not 
always,  in  the  faculty  of  shining  in  the  dark.  Among  the  first 
Agarics  which  I  examined,  I  found  many,  the  stipe  of  which 
shed  here  and  there  a  light  as  -brilliant  as  the  hymenium,  and 
led  me  to  think  that  it  was  due  to  the  spores  which  had  fallen 
on  the  surface  of  the  stipe.  Therefore,  being  in  the  dark,  I 
scraped  with  my  scalpel  the  luminous  parts  of  the  stipe,  but  it 
did  not  sensibly  diminish  their  brightness;  then  I  split  the  stipe, 
bruised  it,  divided  it  into  small  fragments,  and  I  found  that 
the  whole  of  this  mass,  even  in  its  deepest  parts,  enjoyed,  in  a 
similar  degree  to  its  superficies,  the  property  of  light.  I  found, 
besides,  a  phosphorescence  quite  as  brilliant  in  all  the  cap,  for, 


NOTABLE    PHENOMENA.  107 

having  split  it  vertically  in  the  form  of  plates,  I  found  that  the 
traraa,  when  bruised,  threw  out  a  light  equal  to  that  of  their 
fructiferous  surfaces,  and  there  is  really  only  the  superior 
surface  of  the  pileus,  or  its  cuticle,  which  I  have  never  seen 
luminous. 

"  As  I  have  said,  the  Agaric  of  the  olive-tree,  which  is  itself 
very  yellow,  reflects  a  strong  brilliant  light,  and  remains 
endowed  with  this  remarkable  faculty  whilst  it  grows,  or,  at 
least,  while  it  appears  to  preserve  an  active  life,  and  remains 
fresh.  The  phosphorescence  is  at  first,  and  more  ordinarily,  re- 
cognizable at  the  surface  of  the  hymenium.  I  have  seen  a  great 
number  of  young  fungi  which  were  very  phosphorescent  in  the 
gills,  but  not  in  any  other  part.  In  another  case,  and  amongst 
more  aged  fungi,  the  hymenium  of  which  had  ceased  to  give 
light,  the  stipe,  on  the  contrary,  threw  out  a  brilliant  glare. 
Habitually,  the  phosphorescence  is  distributed  in  an  unequal 
manner  upon  the  stipe,  and  the  same  upon  the  gills.  Although 
the  stipe  is  luminous  at  its  surface,  it  is  not  always  necessarily 
so  in  its  interior  substance,  if  one  bruises  it,  but  this  substance 
frequently  becomes  phosphorescent  after  contact  with  the  air. 
Thus,  I  had  irregularly  split  and  slit  a  large  stipe  in  its  length, 
and  I  found  the  whole  flesh  obscure,  whilst  on  the  exterior  were 
some  luminous  places.  I  roughly  joined  the  lacerated  parts, 
and  the  following  evening,  on  observing  them  anew,  I  found 
them  all  flashing  a  bright  light.  At  another  time,  I  had  with 
a  scalpel  split  vertically  many  fungi  in  order  to  hasten  their 
dessication ;  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  surface  of  all  these 
cuts  was  phosphorescent,  but  in  many  of  these  pieces  of  fungi 
the  luminosity  was  limited  to  the  cut  surface  which  remained 
exposed  to  the  air ;  the  flesh  beneath  was  unchanged. 

"  I  have  seen  a  stipe  opened  and  lacerated  irregularly,  the 
whole  of  the  flesh  of  which  remained  phosphorescent  during 
three  consecutive  evenings,  but  the  brightness  diminished  in 
intensity  from  the  exterior  to  the  interior,  so  that  on  the  third 
day  it  did  not  issue  from  the  inner  part  of  the  stipe.  The 
phosphorescence  of  the  gills  is  in  no  way  modified  at  first  by 
immersing  the  fungus  in  water ;  when  they  have  been  immersed 


108  FUNGI. 

they  are  as  bright  as  in  the  air,  but  the  fungi  which  I  left 
immersed  until  the  next  evening  lost  all  their  phosphorescence, 
and  communicated  to  the  water  an  already  sensible  yellow  tint ; 
alcohol  put  upon  the  phosphorescent  gills  did  not  at  once  com- 
pletely obliterate  the  light,  but  visibly  enfeebled  it.  As  to  the 
spores,  which  are  white,  I  have  found  many  times  very  dense 
coats  of  them  thrown  down  on  porcelain  plates,  but  I  have 
never  seen  them  phosphorescent. 

"  As  to  the  observation  made  by  Delile  that  the  Agaric  of  the 
olive  does  not  shine  during  the  day  when  placed  in  total  dark- 
ness, I  think  that  it  could  not  have  been  repeated.  From  what 
I  have  said  of  the  phosphorescence  of  A.  olcarius,  one  naturally 
concludes  that  there  does  not  exist  any  necessary  relation 
between  this  phenomenon  and  the  fructification  of  the  fungus ; 
the  luminous  brightness  of  the  hymenium  shows,  says  Delile, 
'the  greater  activity  of  the  reproductive  organs,'  but  it  is 
not  in  consequence  of  its  reproductive  functions,  which  may 
be  judged  only  as  an  accessory  phenomenon,  the  cause  of  which 
is  independent  of,  and  more  general  than  these  functions,  since 
all  the  parts  of  the  fungus,  its  entire  substance,  throws  forth 
at  one  time,  or  at  successive  times,  light.  From  these  experi- 
ments Tulasne  infers  that  the  same  agents,  oxygen,  water,  and 
warmth,  are  perfectly  necessary  to  the  production  of  phospho- 
rescence as  much  in  living  organized  beings  as  in  those  which 
have  ceased  to  live.  In  either  case,  the  luminous  phenomena 
accompany  a  chemical  reaction  which  consists  principally  in 
a  combination  of  the  organized  matter  with  the  oxygen  of  the 
air;  that  is  to  say,  in  its  combustion,  and  in  the  discharge 
of  carbonic  acid  which  thus  shows  itself." 

We  have  quoted  at  considerable  length  from  these  observa- 
tions of  Tulasne  on  the  Agaric  of  the  olive,  as  they  serve  very 
much  to  illustrate  similar  manifestations  in  other  species,  which 
doubtless  resemble  each  other  in  their  main  features. 

Mr.  Gardner  has  graphically  described  his  first  acquaintance 
in  Brazil  with  the  phosphorescent  species  which  now  bears  his 
name.  It  was  encountered  on  a  dark  night  of  December,  while 
passing  through  the  streets  of  Villa  de  Natividate.  Some  boys 


NOTABLE    PHENOMENA.  109 

were  amusing  themselves  with  some  luminous  object,  which  at 
first  he  supposed  to  be  a  kind  of  large  fire-fly,  but  on  making 
inquiry  he  found  it  to  be  a  beautiful  phosphorescent  Agaric, 
which  he  was  told  grew  abundantly  in  the  neighbourhood  on 
the  decaying  fronds  of  a  dwarf  palm.  The  whole  plant  gives 
out  at  night  a  bright  light  somewhat  similar  to  that  emitted 
by  the  larger  fire-flies,  having  a  pale  greenish  hue.  From  this 
circumstance,  and  from  growing  on  a  palm,  it  was  called  by  the 
inhabitants  "flor  de  coco."* 

The  number  of  recognized  phosphorescent  species  of  Agaricus 
is  not  large,  although  two  or  three  others  may  be  enumerated 
in  addition  to  those  cited  by  Tulasne.  Of  these,  Agaricus 
lampas,  and  some  others,  are  found  in  Australia.f  In  addition 
to  the  Agaricus  noctileucus,  discovered  by  Gaudichaud,  and  the 
Agaricus  igneus  of  E/umphius,  found  in  Amboyna,  Dr.  Hooker 
speaks  of  the  phenomenon  as  common  in  Sikkim,  but  he  seems 
never  to  have  been  able  to  ascertain  with  what  species  it  was 
associated. 

Dr.  Cuthbert  Collingwood  has  communicated  some  further, 
information  relative  to  the  luminosity  of  a  species  of  Agaricus 
in  Borneo  (supposed  to  be  A.  Gardneri),  in  which  he  says, 
"  The  night  being  dark,  the  fungi  could  be  very  distinctly  seen, 
though  not  at  any  great  distance,  shining  with  a  soft  pale 
greenish  light.  Here  and  there  spots  of  much  more  intense 
light  were  visible,  and  these  proved  to  be  very  young  and 
minute  specimens.  The  older  specimens  may  more  properly 
be  described  as  possessing  a  greenish  luminous  glow,  like  the 
glow  of  the  electric  discharge,  which,  however,  was  quite  suf- 
ficient to  define  its  shape,  and,  when  closely  examined,  the  chief 
details  of  its  form  and  appearance.  The  luminosity  did  not 
impart  itself  to  the  hand,  and  did  not  appear  to  be  affected  by 
the  separation  from  the  root  on  which  it  grew,  at  least  not  for 
some  hours.  I  think  it  probable  that  the  mycelium  of  this 
fungus  is  also  luminous,  for,  upon  turning  up  the  ground  in 
search  of  small  luminous  worms,  minute  spots  of  light  were 

*  In  "  Hooker's  Journal  of  Botany  "  (1840),  vol.  ii.  p.  426. 
t  Berkeley,  "Introduction  to  Crypt.  Bot."  t.  265. 
fi 


110  FUNGI. 

observed,  which  could  not  be  referred  to  any  particular  object 
or  body  when  brought  to  the  light  and  examined,  and  were 
probably  due  to  some  minute  portions  of  its  mycelium."*  The 
same  writer  also  adds,  "  Mr.  Hugh  Low  has  assured  me  that  he 
saw  the  jungle  all  in  a  blaze  of  light  (by  which  he  could  see  to 
read)  as,  some  years  ago,  he  was  riding  across  the  island  by 
the  jungle  road ;  and  that  this  luminosity  was  produced  by  an 
Agaric." 

Similar  experiences  were  detailed  by  Mr.  James  Drummond 
in  a  letter  from  Swan  River,  in  which  two  species  of  Agaric 
are  concerned.  They  grew  on  the  stumps  of  trees,  and  had 
nothing  remarkable  in  their  appearance  by  day,  but  by  night 
emitted  a  most  curious  light,  such  as  the  writer  never  saw 
described  in  any  book.  One  species  was  found  growing  on  the 
stump  of  a  Banksia  in  Western  Australia.  The  stump  was  at 
the  time  surrounded  by  water.  It  was  on  a  dark  night,  when 
passing,  that  the  curious  light  was  first  observed.  When  the 
fungus  was  laid  on  a  newspaper,  it  emitted  by  night  a  phospho- 
rescent light,  enabling  persons  to  read  the  words  around  it,  and 
it  continued  to  do  so  for  several  nights  with  gradually  decreas- 
ing intensity  as  the  plant  dried  up.  In  the  other  instance, 
which  occurred  some  years  after,  the  author,  during  one  of  his 
botanical  trips,  was  struck  by  the  appearance  of  a  large  Agaric, 
measuring  sixteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  weighing  about  five 
pounds.  This  specimen  was  hung  up  to  dry  in  the  sitting- 
room,  and  on  passing  through  the  apartment  in  the  dark  it  was 
observed  to  give  out  the  same  remarkable  light.  The  luminous 
property  continued,  though  gradually  diminishing,  for  four  or 
five  nights,  when  it  ceased  on  the  plant  becoming  dry.  "  We 
called  some  of  the  natives,"  he  adds,  "and  showed  them  this 
fungus  when  emitting  light,  and  the  poor  creatures  cried  out 
*  chinga,'  their  name  for  a  spirit,  and  seemed  much  afraid 
of  it."f 

Although  the  examples  already  cited  are  those  of  species  of 
Agaric,  luminosity  is  not  by  any  means  wholly  confined  to  that 

*  Dr.  Collingwood,  in  "  Journal  of  Linnsean  Society  (Botany),"  vol.  x.  p.  409. 
t  In  "  Hooker's  Journal  of  Botany  "  for  April,  1842. 


NOTABLE   PHENOMENA.  Ill 

genus.  Mr.  Wortliington  Smith  has  recorded  his  experiences  of 
some  specimens  of  the  common  Polyporus  annosus  which  were 
found  on  some  timbers  in  the  Cardiff  coal  mines.  He  remarks 
that  the  colliers  are  well  acquainted  with  phosphorescent  fungi, 
and  the  men  state  that  sufficient  light  is  given  "to  see  their 
hands  by."  The  specimens  of  Polyporus  were  so  luminous 
that  they  could  be  seen  in  the  dark  at  a  distance  of  twenty 
yards.  He  observes  further,  that  he  has  met  with  specimens  of 
Polyporus  sulfureus  which  were  phosphorescent.  Some  of  the 
fungi  found  in  mines,  which  emit  light  familiar  to  the  miners, 
belong  to  the  incomplete  genus  RhizomGrpha,  of  which  Humboldt 
amongst  others  gives  a  glowing  account.  Tulasne  has  also 
investigated  this  phenomenon  in  connection  with  the  common 
Rhizomorpha  subterranea>  Pers.  This  species  extends  underneath 
the  soil  in  long  strings,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  old  tree  stumps, 
those  of  the  oak  especially,  which  are  becoming  rotten,  and 
upon  these  it  is  fixed  by  one  of  its  branches.  These  are  cylin- 
drical, very  flexible,  branching,  and  clothed  with  a  hard  bark, 
encrusting  and  fragile,  at  first  smooth  and  brown,  becoming 
later  very  rough  and  black.  The  interior  tissue,  at  first  whitish, 
afterwards  of  a  more  or  less  deep  brown  colour,  is  formed  of 
extremely  long  parallel  filaments  from  *0035  to  *015  mm.  in 
diameter. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  when  I  received  the  specimens,* 
he  writes,  the  temperature  being  about  22°  Cent.,  all  the  young 
branches  brightened  with  an  uniform  phosphoric  light  the  whole 
of  their  length  ;  it  was  the  same  with  the  surface  of  some  of  the 
older  branches,  the  greater  number  of  which  were  still  brilliant  in 
some  parts,  and  only  on  their  surface.  I  split  and  lacerated  many 
of  these  twigs,  but  their  internal  substance  remained  dull.  The 
next  evening,  on  the  contrary,  this  substance,  having  been  ex- 
posed to  contact  with  the  air,  exhibited  at  its  surface  the  same 
brightness  as  the  bark  of  the  branches.  I  made  this  observa- 
tion upon  the  old  stalks  as  well  as  upon  the  young  ones.  Pro- 
longed friction  of  the  luminous  surfaces  reduced  the  brightness 

*  Tulasnc,  "Sur  la  Phosphorescence,  "in  "Ann.  desSci.  Nat."  (1848),  vol.  ix. 
p.  340,  &c. 


112  FUNGT. 

and  dried  them  to  a  certain  degree,  but  did  not  leave  on  tho 
fingers  any  phosphorescent  matter.  These  parts  continued  with 
the  same  luminous  intensity  after  holding  them  in  the  mouth  so 
as  to  moisten  them  with  saliva ;  plunged  into  water,  held  to  the 
flame  of  a  candle  so  that  the  heat  they  acquired  was  very  appre- 
ciable to  the  touch,  they  still  emitted  in  the  dark  a  feeble  light ;  it 
was  the  same  after  being  held  in  water  heated  to  30°  C. ;  but  put- 
ting them  in  water  bearing  a  temperature  of  55°  C.  extinguished 
them  entirely.  They  are  equally  extinguished  if  held  in  the  mouth 
until  they  catch  the  temperature ;  perhaps,  still,  it  might  be 
attributed  less  to  the  heat  which  is  communicated  to  them  than 
to  the  deficiency  of  sufficient  oxygen,  because  I  have  seen  some 
stalks,  having  become  dull  in  the  mouth,  recover  after  a  few 
instants  a  little  of  their  phosphorescence.  A  young  stalk 
which  had  been  split  lengthwise,  and  the  internal  substance  of 
which  was  very  phosphorescent,  could  imbibe  olive  oil  many 
times  and  yet  continue  for  a  long  time  to  give  a  feeble  light. 
By  preserving  these  RMzomorphce  in  an  adequate  state  of 
humidity,  I  have  been  able  for  many  evenings  to  renew  the 
examination  of  their  phosphorescence;  the  commencement  of 
dessication,  long  before  they  really  perish,  deprives  them  of  the 
faculty  of  giving  light.  Those  which  had  been  dried  for  more 
than  a  month,  when  plunged  into  water,  commenced  to  vegetate 
anew  and  send  forth  numerous  branches  in  a  few  days ;  but  I 
could  only  discover  phosphorescence  at  the  surface  of  these  new 
formations,  or  very  rarely  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood, 
the  mother  stalks  appearing  to  have  lost  by  dessication  their 
luminous  properties,  and  did  not  recover  them  on  being  recalled 
to  life.  These  observations  prove  that  what  Schmitz  has  written 
was  not  true,  that  all  parts  of  these  fungi  were  seldom  phos- 
phorescent. 

The  luminous  phenomenon  in  question  is  without  doubt  more 
complicated  than  it  appears,  and  the  causes  to  which  we  attri- 
bute it  are  certainly  powerfully  modified  by  the  general  character 
of  the  objects  in  which  they  reside.  Most  of  the  German 
botanists  give  this  explanation,  others  suppose  that  it  forms  at 
first  or  during  its  continuance  a  special  matter,  in  which  the 


NOTABLE    PHENOMENA.  113 

luminous  property  resides ;  this  matter,  which  is  said  to  be 
mucilaginous  in  the  luminous  wood,  appears  to  be  in  the 
BhizomorpJia  only  a  kind  of  chemical  combination  between  the 
membrane  and  some  gummy  substance  which  they  contain. 
Notwithstanding  this  opinion,  I  am  assured  that  all  external 
mucous  matter  was  completely  absent  from  the  Agaricus  olearius, 
and  I  neither  discovered  it  upon  the  branches  of  Rhizomorpha 
subterranea  nor  upon  the  dead  leaves  which  I  have  seen  phos- 
phorescent ;  in  all  these  objects  the  luminous  surfaces  were 
nothing  else  than  their  proper  tissue. 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the  so-called  species  of  Rhizo- 
morpha  are  imperfect  fungi,  being  entirely  devoid  of  fructifica- 
tion, consisting  in  fact  only  of  a  vegetative  system — a  sort  of 
compact  mycelium — (probably  of  species  of  Xylaria)  with  some 
affinity  to  Sclerotium. 

Recently  an  extraordinary  instance  of  luminosity  was  recorded 
as  occurring  in  our  own  country.*  "  A  quantity  of  wood  had 
been  purchased  in  a  neighbouring  parish,  which  was  dragged  up 
a  very  steep  hill  to  its  destination.  Amongst  them  was  a  log  of 
larch  or  spruce,  it  is  not  quite  certain  which,  24  feet  long  and  a 
foot  in  diameter.  Some  young  friends  happened  to  pass  up  the 
hill  at  night,  and  were  surprised  to  find  the  road  scattered  with 
luminous  patches,  which,  when  more  closely  examined,  proved  to 
be  portions  of  bark  or  little  fragments  of  wood.  Following  the 
track,  they  came  to  a  blaze  of  white  light  which  was  perfectly 
surprising.  On  examination,  it  appeared  that  the  whole  of  the 
inside  of  the  bark  of  the  log  was  covered  with  a  white  byssoid 
mycelium  of  a  peculiarly  strong  smell,  but  unfortunately  in  such 
a  state  that  the  perfect  form  could  not  be  ascertained.  This  was 
luminous,  but  the  light  was  by  no  means  so  bright  as  in  those 
parts  of  the  wood  where  the  spawn  had  penetrated  more  deeply, 
and  where  it  was  so  intense  that  the  roughest  treatment  scarcely 
seemed  to  check  it.  If  any  attempt  was  made  to  rub  off  the 
luminous  matter  it  only  shone  the  more  brightly,  and  when  wrapped 
up  in  five  folds  of  paper  the  light  penetrated  through  all  the  folds 
on  either  side  as  brightly  as  if  the  specimen  was  exposed  ;  when, 
*Eev.  M.  J.  Berkeley,  in  "  Gardeners  Chronicle"  for  1872,  p.  1258. 


114  FUNGI. 

again,  the  specimens  were  placed  in  the  pocket,  the  pocket  when 
opened  was  a  mass  of  light.  The  luminosity  had  now  been 
going  on  for  three  days.  Unfortunately  we  did  not  see  it  our- 
selves till  the  third  day,  when  it  had,  possibly  from  a  change  in 
the  state  of  electricity,  been  somewhat  impaired  ;  but  it  was 
still  most  interesting,  and  we  have  merely  recorded  what  we 
observed  ourselves.  It  was  almost  possible  to  read  the  time  on 
the  face  of  a  watch  even  in  its  less  luminous  condition.  We  do 
not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the  mycelium  is  essentially 
luminous,  but  are  rather  inclined  to  believe  that  a  peculiar  con- 
currence of  climatic  conditions  is  necessary  for  the  production 
of  the  phenomenon,  which  is  certainly  one  of  great  rarity. 
Observers  as  we  have  been  of  fungi  in  their  native  haunts  for 
fifty  years,  it  has  never  fallen  to  our  lot  to  witness  a  similar  case 
before,  though  Prof.  Churchill  Babington  once  sent  us  specimens 
of  luminous  wood,  which  had,  however,  lost  their  luminosity 
before  they  arrived.  It  should  be  observed  that  the  parts  of  the 
wood  which  were  most  luminous  were  not  only  deeply  penetrated 
by  the  more  delicate  parts  of  the  mycelium,  but  were  those 
which  were  most  decomposed.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
this  fact  is  an  element  in  the  case  as  well  as  the  presence  of 
fungoid  matter." 

In  all  cases  of  phosphorescence  recorded,  the  light  emitted 
is  described  as  of  the  same  character,  varying  only  in  intensity. 
It  answers  well  to  the  name  applied  to  it,  as  it  seems  remarkably 
similar  to  the  light  emitted  by  some  living  insects  and  other 
animal  organisms,  as  well  as  to  that  evolved,  under  favourable 
conditions,  by  dead  animal  matter — a  pale  bluish  light,  resem- 
bling that  emitted  by  phosphorus  as  seen  in  a  dark  room. 

Another  phenomenon  worthy  of  note  is  the  change  of  colour 
which  the  bruised  or  cut  surface  of  some  fungi  undergo.  Most 
prominent  amongst  these  are  certain  poisonous  species  of 
Boletus,  such,  for  instance,  as  Boletus  luridus,  and  some 
others,  which,  on  being  bruised,  cut,  or  divided,  exhibit  an 
intense,  and  in  some  cases  vivid,  blue.  At  times  this  change 
is  so  instantaneous  that  before  the  two  freshly-cut  portions 
of  a  Boletus  can  be  separated,  it  has  already  commenced,  and 


NOTABLE    PHENOMENA.  115 

proceeds  rapidly  till  the  depth  of  intensity  has  been  gained. 
This  blue  colour  is  so  universally  confined  to  dangerous  species 
that  it  is  given  as  a  caution  that  all  species  which  exhibit  a  blue 
colour  when  cut  or  bruised,  should  on  no  account  be  eaten.  The 
degree  of  intensity  varies  considerably  according  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  species.  For  example,  Boletus  ccsrulescens  is 
sometimes  only  very  slightly,  if  at  all,  tinged  with  blue  when 
cut,  though,  as  the  name  implies,  the  peculiar  phenomenon  is 
generally  highly  developed.  It  cannot  be  said  that  this  change 
of  colour  has  as  yet  been  fully  investigated.  One  writer  some 
time  since  suggested,  if  he  did  not  affirm,  that  the  colour  was 
due  to  the  presence  of  aniline,  others  have  contented  themselves 
with  the  affirmation  that  it  was  a  rapid  oxidization  and  chemi- 
cal change,  consequent  upon  exposure  of  the  surfaces  to  the  air. 
Archdeacon  Robinson  examined  this  phenomenon  in  different 
gases,  and  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  change  depends  on 
an  alteration  of  molecular  arrangement.* 

One  of  the  best  of  the  edible  species  of  JLactarius,  known  as 
Lactarius  deliciosus,  changes,  wherever  cut  or  bruised,  to  a  dull 
livid  green.  This  fungus  is  filled  with  an  orange  milky  fluid, 
which  becomes  green  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and  it  is  conse- 
quently the  juice  which  oxidizes  on  exposure.  Some  varieties 
more  than  others  of  the  cultivated  mushroom  become  brownish 
on  being  cut,  and  a  similar  change  we  have  observed,  though 
not  recorded,  in  other  species. 

The  presence  of  a  milky  juice  in  certain  fungi  has  been 
alluded  to.  This  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  genus  Lac- 
tariust  in  which  such  juice  is  universal,  sometimes  white,  some- 
times yellow,  and  sometimes  colourless.  In  Agarics,  especially 
in  the  subgenus  Mycena,  the  gills  and  stem  are  replete  with  a 
milky  juice  Also  in  some  species  of  Peziza,  as  for  instance  in 
Peziza  succosa,  B.,  sometimes  found  growing  on  the  ground  in 
gardens,  and  in  Peziza  saniosa,  Schrad.,also  a  terrestrial  species, 
the  same  phenomenon  occurs.  To  this  might  be  added  such 
species  as  Stereum  spadiceum,  Fr.,  and  Stereum  sanguinolcntum^ 

*  Berkeley,  "  Introduction  to  Crypt.  Bot."  p.  266. 


116  FUNGI. 

Fr.,  both  of  which  become  discoloured  and  bleeding  when 
bruised,  while  Corticium  lactescens  distils  a  watery  milk. 

Fungi  in  general  have  not  a  good  repute  for  pleasant  odours, 
and  yet  it  must  be  conceded  that  they  are  not  by  any  means  de- 
void of  odour,  sometimes  peculiar,  often  strong,  and  occasionally 
very  offensive.  There  is  a  peculiar  odour  common  to  a  great 
many  forms,  which  has  come  to  be  called  a  fungoid  odour ;  it  is 
the  faint  smell  of  a  long-closed  damp  cellar,  an  odour  of  mouldi- 
ness  and  decay,  which  often  arises  from  a  process  of  eremocau- 
sis.  But  there  are  other,  stronger,  and  equally  distinct  odours, 
which,  when  once  inhaled,  are  never  to  be  forgotten.  Amongst 
these  is  the  fetid  odour  of  the  common  stinkhorn,  which  is  in- 
tensified in  the  more  beautiful  and  curious  ClatJirus.  It  is  very 
probable  that,  after  all,  the  odour  of  the  Phallus  would  not  be  so 
unpleasant  if  it  were  not  so  strong.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine, 
when  one  encounters  a  slight  sniff  borne  on  a  passing  breeze, 
that  there  is  the  element  of  something  not  by  any  means  un- 
pleasant about  the  odour  when  so  diluted ;  yet  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  when  carried  in  a  vasculum,  in  a  close  carriage,  or 
railway  car,  or  exposed  in  a  close  room,  there  is  no  scruple  about 
pronouncing  the  odour  intensely  fetid.  The  experience  of  more 
than  one  artist,  who  has  attempted  the  delineation  of  Clathrus 
from  the  life,  is  to  the  effect  that  the  odour  is  unbearable  even 
by  an  enthusiastic  artist  determined  on  making  a  sketch. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  fetid  of  fungi  is  Thelepkora  palmata. 
Some  specimens  were  on  one  occasion  taken  by  Mr.  Berkeley  into 
his  bedroom  at  Aboyne,  when,  after  an  hour  or  two,  he  was  hor- 
rified at  finding  the  scent  far  worse  than  that  of  any  dissecting 
room.  He  was  anxious  to  save  the  specimens,  but  the  scent  was 
so  powerful  that  it  was  quite  intolerable  till  he  had  wrapped  them 
in  twelve  thick  folds  of  the  strongest  brown  paper.  The  scent 
of  Thelepliora  fastidiosa  is  bad  enough,  but,  like  that  of  Coprimts 
picaceits,  it  is  probably  derived  from  the  imbibition  of  the  ordure 
on  which  it  is  developed.  There  needs  no  stronger  evidence 
that  the  scent  must  not  only  be  powerful,  but  unpleasant,  when 
an  artist  is  compelled,  before  a  rough  .  sketch  is  more  than  half 
finished,  to  throw  it  away,  and  seek  relief  in  the  open  air.  A  great 


NOTABLE    PHENOMENA.  117 

number  of  edible  Agarics  have  the  peculiar  odour  of  fresh  mejal, 
but  two  species,  Agaricus  odorus  and  Agaricus  fragrans,  hav.e  a 
pleasant  anise-like  odour.  In  two  or  three  species  of  tough 
Hydnum,  there  is  a  strong  persistent  odour  somewhat  like  melilot 
or  woodruffe,  which  does  not  pass  away  after  the  specimen  has 
been  dried  for  years.  In  some  species  of  Marasmius,  there  is  a 
decidedly  strong  odour  of  garlic,  and  in  one  species  of  Hygro- 
phorus,  such  a  resemblance  to  that  of  the  larva  of  the  goat 
moth,  that  it  bears  the  name  of  Hygrophorus  cossus.  Most  of 
the  fleshy  forms  exhale  a  strong  nitrous  odour  during  decay, 
but  the  most  powerful  we  remember  to  have  experienced  was 
developed  by  a  very  large  specimen  of  Choiromyces  meandriformia, 
a  gigantic  subterranean  species  of  the  truffle  kind,  and  this 
specimen  was  four  inches  in  diameter  when  found,  and  then 
partially  decayed.  It  was  a  most  peculiar,  but  strong  and 
unpleasantly  pungent  nitrous  odour,  such  as  we  never  remember 
to  have  met  with  in  any  other  substance.  Peziza  venosa  is 
remarkable  when  fresh  for  a  strong  scent  like  that  of 
aquafortis. 

Of  colour,  fungi  exhibit  an  almost  endless  variety,  from  white, 
through  ochraceous,  to  all  tints  of  brown  until  nearly  black,  or 
through  sulphury  yellow  to  reds  of  all  shades,  deepening  into 
crimson,  or  passing  by  vinous  tints  into  purplish  black.  These 
are  the  predominating  gradations,  but  there  are  occasional  blues 
and  mineral  greens,  passing  into  olive,  but  no  pure  or  chloro- 
phyllous  green.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  latter  is  found  in 
the  hymenium  of  some  Boleti.  Some  of  the  Agarics  exhibit 
bright  colours,  but  the  larger  number  of  bright-coloured  species 
occur  in  the  genus  Peziza.  Nothing  can  be  more  elegant  than 
the  orange  cups  of  Peziza  aurantia,  the  glowing  crimson  of 
Peziza  coccinea,  the  bright  scarlet  of  Peziza  rutilans,  the  snowy 
whiteness  of  Peziza  nivea,  the  delicate  yellow  of  Peziza  thele- 
loloides,  or  the  velvety  brown  of  Peziza  repanda.  Amongst 
Agarics,  the  most  noble  Agaricus  muscarius,  with  its  warty 
crimson  pileus,  is  scarcely  eclipsed  by  the  continental  orange 
Agaricus  casarius.  The  amethystine  variety  of  Agaricus  laccatus 
is  so  common  and  yet  so  attractive ;  whilst  some  forms  and 


118  FUNGI. 

species  Russula  are  gems  of  brilliant  colouring.  The  golden 
tufts  of  more  than  one  species  of  Clavaria  are  exceedingly 
attractive,  and  the  delicate  pink  of  immature  Lycogala  epiden- 
drum  is  sure  to  command  admiration.  The  minute  forms 
which  require  the  microscope,  as  much  to  exhibit  their  colour 
as  their  structure,  are  not  wanting  in  rich  and  delicate  tints, 
so  that  the  colour- student  would  find  much  to  charm  him,  and 
good  practice  for  his  pencil  in  these  much  despised  examples  of 
low  life. 

Amongst  phenomena  might  be  cursorily  mentioned  the 
peculiar  sarcodioid  mycelium  of  Myxogastres,  the  development 
of  amoeboid  forms  from  their  spores,  and  the  extraordinary 
rapidity  of  growth,  as  the  well-known  instance  of  the  Reticularia 
which  Schweinitz  observed  running  over  iron  a  few  hours  after 
it  had  been  red  hot.  Mr.  Berkeley  has  observed  that  the  creamy 
mycelium  of  Lycogala  will  not  revive  after  it  has  become  dry 
for  a  few  hours,  though  so  active  before. 


VI. 

THE   SPOEE   AND  ITS   DISSEMINATION. 

A  WORK  of  this  character  would  hardly*  be  deemed  complete 
without  some  reference  to  the  above  subject,  which  has  moreover 
a  relation  to  some  of  the  questions  discussed,  and  particularly  of 
spore  diffusion  in  the  atmosphere.  The  largest  spore  is  micro- 
scopic, and  the  smallest  known  scarcely  visible  under  a  magni- 
fying power  of  360  diameters.  Taking  into  account  -the  large 
number  of  species  of  fungi,  probably  scarcely  less  numerous  than 
all  the  flowering  plants,  and  the  immense  number  of  spores  which 
some  of  the  individuals  produce,  they  must  be  exceedingly  plen- 
tiful and  widely  diffused,  though  from  their  minuteness  not  easy 
to  be  discerned.  It  has  been  attempted  to  estimate  the  number 
of  spores  which  might  be  produced  by  one  single  plant  of  Lyco- 
perdon,  but  the  number  so  far  exceeds  that  which  the  mind  is 
accustomed  to  contemplate  that  it  seems  scarcely  possible  to 
realize  their  profusion.  Recent  microscopic  examinations  of  the 
common  atmosphere*  show  the  large  quantity  of  spores  that  are 
continually  suspended.  In  these  investigations  it  was  found  that 
spores  and  similar  cells  were  of  constant  occurrence,  and  were 
generally  present  in  considerable  numbers.  That  the  majority 
of  the  cells  were  living,  and  ready  to  undergo  development  on 
meeting  with  suitable  conditions,  was  very  manifest,  as  in  those 
cases  in  which  preparations  were  retained  under  observation  for 
any  length  of  time,  germination  rapidly  took  place  in  many  of 
the  cells.  In  few  instances  did  any  development  take  place, 

*  Cunningham,  in  "  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Sanitary  Commissioner  with 
the  Government  of  India."    Calcutta,  187  2. 


120  FUNGI. 

beyond  the  formation  of  networks  of  mycelium,  or  masses  of 
toruloid  cells,  but,  in  one  or  two,  distinct  sporules  were  developed 
on  the  filaments  arising  from  some  of  the  larger  septate  spores ; 
and  in  a  few  others,  Penicillium  and  Aspergillus  produced  their 
characteristic  heads  of  fructification.  With  regard  to  the  precise 
nature  of  the  spores,  and  other  cells  present  in  various  instances, 
little  can  be  said,  as,  unless  their  development  were  to  be  care- 
fully followed  out  through  all  its  stages,  it  is  impossible  to  refer 
them  to  their  correct  species  or  even  genera.  The  greater 
number  of  them  are  apparently  referable  to  the  old  orders  of 
fungi,  Sphteronemei,  3M.elanconei,  Torulacei,  Deinatiei,  and  Muce- 
dines,  while  some  probably  belonged  to  the  Puccinicei  and 
CcBomacei. 

Hence  it  is  demonstrated  that  a  large  number  of  the  spores 
of  fungi  are  constantly  present  in  the  atmosphere,  which  is  con- 
firmed by  the  fact  that  whenever  a  suitable  pabulum  is  exposed 
it  is  taken  possession  of  by  floating  spores,  and  soon  converted 
into  a  forest  of  fungoid  vegetation.  It  is  admitted  that  the 
spores  of  such  common  moulds  as  Aspergillus  and  Penicillium 
are  so  widely  diffused,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  exclude 
them  from  closed  vessels,  or  the  most  carefully  guarded  prepara- 
tions. Special  contrivances  for  the  dispersion  of  the  spores  in 
the  different  groups  follow  a  few  general  types,  and  it  is  only 
rarely  that  we  meet  with  any  method  that  is  confined  only  to  a 
species  or  genus.  Some  of  the  more  significant  forms  of  spores 
may  be  illustrated,  with  their  modes  of  dissemination. 

BASIDIOSPOKES  is  a  term  which  we  may  employ  here  to  desig- 
nate all  spores  borne  at  the  tips  of  such  supports  as  are  found 
in  the  Hymenomycetes  and  Q-asteromycetes,  to  which  the  name 
of  basidia  has  been  given.  In  fact,  under  this  section  we  may 
include  all  the  spores  of  those  two  orders,  although  we  may  be 
ignorant  of  the  precise  mode  in  which  the  fruit  of  most  of  the 
Myxogastres  is  developed.  Guarding  ourselves  at  the  outset 
against  any  misinterpretation  as  to  the  use  of  this  term,  which, 
in  fact,  we  employ  simply  to  designate  the  fruit  of  Hymenomy- 
cetes, we  may  have  excuse  in  our  desire  to  limit  special  terms  as 
much  as  possible.  In  the  Agaricini  the  spores  are  plentiful,  and 


THE    SPORE    AND    ITS    DISSEMINATION. 


121 


are  distributed  over  the  hymenium  or  gill  plates,  the  surface  of 
which  is  studded  with  basidia,  each  of  which  normally  ter- 
minates with  four  short,  erect,  delicate,  thread-like  processes, 
each  of  which  is  surmounted  by  a  spore.  These  spores  are 
colourless  or  coloured,  and  it  is  upon  this  fact  that  primary  divi- 
sions in  the  genus  Agaricus  are  based,  inasmuch  as  colour  in  the 


Fio.   45.— Spores    of    (a)  Agaricus  mucidus;    (b)  Agaricus  vaginatus  ;    (c)  Agaricua 
pascuus;  (d)  Agaricus  nidorosus;  (e)  Agaricus  campestris.     (Smith.) 

spores  appears  to  be  a  permanent  feature.  In  white-spored  species 
the  spores  are  white  in  all  the  individuals,  not  mutable  as  the 
colour  of  the  pileus,  or  the  corolla  in  phanerogamic  plants.  So 
also  with  the  pink  spored,  rusty  spored,  black  spored,  and  others. 
This  may  serve  to  explain  why  colour,  which  is  so  little  relied 
upon  in  classification  amongst  the  higher  plants,  should  be  intro- 
duced as  an  element  of  classification  in  one  of  the  largest 
genera  of  fungi. 

There  are  considerable  differences  in  size  and  form  amongst 
the  spores  of  the  Agaricini,  although  at  first  globose;  when 
mature  they  are  globose,  oval,  oblong,  elliptic,  fusiform,  and 
either  smooth  or  tuberculated,  often  maintaining  in.  the  different 


Fio.   46.— Spores  of  (a)  lactarius   blennius;  (b)  Lactarius  fuliginosus;  (c)  Lactariut 
quietus.     (Smith.) 

genera   or   subgenera   one  particular   characteristic,   or  typical 
form.     It  is  unnecessary  here  to  particularize  all  the  modifica- 


122  FUNGI. 

tions  which  the  form  and  colour  of  the  spores  undergo  in  dif- 
ferent species,  as  this  has  already  been  alluded  to.     The  spores 


FIG.  46*. — (a]  Spore  of  Gomphidiua         FIG.  47. — Spores  of  (a)  Polyporus  ccesius  ; 
viscidus;  (b)  spore  of  Coprinus  micaceus.  (6)  Boletus  parasiticus  ;  (c)  Hydimm. 

in  the  Polyporei,  Hydnei,  &c.,  are  less  variable,  of  a  similar 
character,  as  in  all  the  Hymenomycetes,  except  perhaps  the 
TremellinL 

When  an  Agaric  is  mature,  if  the  stem  is  cut  off  close  to  the 
gills,  and  the  pileus  inverted,  with  the  gills  downwards  on  a 
sheet  of  black  paper  (one  of  the  pale-spored  species  is  best  for 
this  purpose),  ancl  left  for  a  few  hours,  or  all  night,  in  that 
position,  the  paper  will  be  found  imprinted  in  the  morning 
with  a  likeness  of  the  under  side  of  the  pileus  with  its  radiating 
gills,  the  spores  having  been  thro.wn  down  upon  the  paper  in 
such  profusion,  from  the  hymenium,  and  in  greater  numbers 
from  the  opposed  surfaces  of  the  gills.  This  little  experiment 
will  be  instructive  in  two  or  three  points.  It  will  illustrate  the 
facility  with  which  the  spores  are  disseminated,  the  immense 
number  in  which  they  are  produced,  and  the  adaptability  of  the 
gill  structure  to  the  economy  of  space,  and  the  development  of 
the  largest  number  of  basidiospores  from  a  given  surface.  The 
tubes  or  pores  in  Polyporei,  the  spines  in  Hydnei,  are  modifica- 
tions of  the  same  principles,  producing  a  like  result. 

In  the  Q aster omycetes  the  spores  are  produced  in  many  cases, 
probably  in  most,  if  not  all,  at  the  tips  of  sporophores ;  but  the 
hymenium,  instead  of  being  exposed,  as  in  the  Hymenomycetes,  is 
enclosed  within  an  outer  peridium  or  sac,  which  is  sometimes 
double.  The  majority  of  these  spores  are  globose  in  form,  some 
of  them  extremely  minute,  variously  coloured,  often  dark,  nearly 
black,  and  either  externally  smooth  or  echinulate.  In  some 
genera,  as  Enerthenema,  Badhamia,  &c.,  a  definite  number  of 
spores  are  at  first  enclosed  in  delicate  cysts,  but  these  are  excep- 


9  THE    SPORE   AND   ITS    DISSEMINATION.  .  123 

tions  to  the  general  rule :  this  also  is  the  case  in  at  least  one 
species  of  Hymenogaster.  As  the  spores  approach  maturity,  it 
may  be  observed  in  such  genera  as  Stemonitis,  Arcyria,  T)iachea, 
Dictydium,  Cribraria,  Trichia,  &c.,  that  they  are  accompanied  by 
a  sort  of  reticulated  skeleton  of  threads,  which  re- 
main permanent,  and  served  in  earlier  stages,  doubt- 
less, as  supports  for  tile  spores ;  being,  in  fact,  the 
skeleton  of  the  hymenium.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  the  spiral  character  of  the  threads  in  Trichia 
calls  to  mind  the  elaters  in  the  Hepaticce,  and  like 
them  may,  by  elasticity,  aid  in  the  dispersion  of  the 
spores.  There  is  nothing  known,  however,  which 
will  warrant  this  view.  When  the  spores  are 
mature,  the  peridium  ruptures  either  by  an  external 
orifice,  as  in  Geaster,  Lycoperdon,  &c.,  or  by  an 
irregular  opening,  and  the  light,  minute,  delicate  , 
spores  are  disseminated  by  the  slightest  breath  of 
air.  Specimens  of  Geaster  and  Bovista  are  easily 
separated  from  the  spot  on  which  they  grew ;  when 
rolling  from  place  to  place,  the  spores  are  deposited  FlG  48  _ 
over  a  large  surface.  In  the  Phalloidei  the  spores  chea 
are  involved  in  a  slimy  mucus  which  would  prevent  their  diffu- 
sion in  such  a  manner.  This  gelatinous  substance  has  neverthe- 
less a  peculiar  attraction  for  insects,  and  it  is  not  altogether 
romantic  to  believe  that  in  sucking  up  the  fetid  slime,  they 
also  imbibe  the  spores  and  transfer  them  from  place  to  place, 
so  that  even  amongst  fungi  insects  aid  in  the  dissemination  of 
species.  Whether  or  not  the  Myxogastres  should  be  included 
here  is  matter  of  opinion,  since  the  mode  in  which  the  spores 
are  developed  is  but  little  known ;  analogy  with  the  Trichogastres 
in  other  points  alone  leading  to  the  conclusion  that  they  may 
produce  basidiospores.  The  slender,  elastic  stems  which  sup- 
port the  peridia  in  many  species  are  undoubted  aids  to  the 
dissemination  of  the  spores.* 

Under  the  name  of  STYLOSPORES  may  be  classed  those  spores 
which  in  some  orders  of  Coniomycetes  are  produced  at  the  apex 
*  See  "Corda  Icones,"  tab.  2. 


124 


FUNGI. 


of  short  threads,  either  enclosed  in  a  perithecium,  or  seated  upon. 
a  kind  of  stroma.  These  are  exceedingly  variable,  sometimes 
large,  and  multiseptate,  at  other  times  minute,  resembling  sper- 
matia.  In  such  genera  as  are  chiefly  epiphytal,  in  Septoria, 
Phyllosticta,  and  their  allies,  the  minute  spores  are  enclosed 
within  membranaceous  perithecia,  and  when  mature  these  are 
ejected  from  the  orifice  at  the  apex,  or  are  exposed  by  the  break- 
ing off  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  perithecia.  In  Diplodia  and 
Hendersonia  the  spores  are  larger,  mostly  coloured,  often  very 

,  fine  in  the  latter  genus? 
and  multiseptate,  escaping 
from  the  perithecia  by  a 
terminal  pore.  Probably 
the  species  are  only  pyc- 
nidia  of  Sph&riacei,  but 
that  is  of  no  consequence 
in  relation  to  our  present 


\ 


FIG.  49.— Spore  of  Hen- 
dersonia polycystis. 


inquiry.       Of    stylospores 
which  deserve  mention  on 
FIG.  so.— Spores  of  Dilo-  account    of    their    singu- 

phospora  graminis.        ]arity     of     form,     W6     may 

note  those  of  Dilophospora  graminis,  which  are  straight,  arid 
have  two  or  three  hair-like  appendages  at  each  extremity.  In 
Discosia  there  is  a  single  oblique  bristle  at  each  end,  or  at 
the  side  of  the  septate  spores,  whilst  in  Neottiospora  a  tuft  of 


FIG.  51.— Spores  of  Discosia.  FIG.  52.— Spore  of  Prostkemium  betulinum. 

delicate  hairs  is  found  at  one  extremity  only.     The  appendages 
in  Dinemasporium  are  similar  to  those  of  Discosia.     The  spores 


THE    SPORE    AND    ITS    DISSEMINATION. 


125 


in  ProstJiemium  may  be  said  in  some  sort  to  resemble  compound 
Hendersonia,  being  fusiform  and  multiseptate,  often  united,  at 
the  base  in  a  stellate  manner.  In  this  genus,  as  in  Darluca, 
Cytispora,  and  the  most  of  those  belonging  to  the  Melanconiei, 
the  spores  when  mature  are  expelled  from  the  orifice  of  the 
perithecium  or  spurious  perithecium,  either  in  the  form  of 
tendrils,  or  in  a  pasty  mass.  In  these  instances  the  spores  are 
more  or  less  involved  in  gelatine,  and  when  expelled  lie  spread 
over  the  matrix,  around  the  orifice ;  their  ultimate  diffusion 
being  due  to  moisture  washing  them  over  other  parts  of  the 
same  tree,  since  it  is  probable  that  their  natural  area  of 
dissemination  is  not  large,  the  higher  plants,  of  which  they 
are  mostly  conditions,  being  developed  on  the  same  branches. 
More  must  be  known  of  the  relations  between  Melanconium 
and  Tulasne's  sphaeriaceous  genus  Melanconis  before  we  can 
appreciate  entirely  the  advantage  to  Melanconium  and  some 
other  genera,  that  the  wide  diffusion  of  their  spores  should  be 
checked  by  involving  them  in  mucus,  or  their  being  agglutinated 
to  the  surface  of  the  matrix,  only  to  be  softened  and  diffused  Jby 
rain.  The  spores  in  many  species  amongst  the  Melanconiei  are 


FIG.  53.— Spore  of 

Stegonosporium 

cellulosum. 


FIG.  54. — Stylospores  of 
C'oryncum  discifomne. 


FIG.  55.— Spores  of  Asterosporium 
Hqffmanni. 


remarkably  fine  ;  those  of  Stegonosporium  have  the  endochrome 
partite  and  cellular.  In  Stillospora  and  Coryneum  the  spores  are 
multiseptate,  large,  and  mostly  coloured.  In  Asterosporium  the 


126  FUNGI. 

spores  are  stellate,  whilst  in  Pestalozzia  they  are  septate,  with  a 
permanent  peduncle,  and  crested  above  with  two  or  three  hyaline 
appendages. 

The  Torulacei  externally,  and  to  the  naked  eye,  are  very 
similar  to  the  black  moulds,  and  the  mode  of  dissemination  will 
be  alike  in  both.  The  spores  are  chiefly  compound,  at  first 
resembling  septate  threads,  and  at  length  breaking  up  into 


FIG.  56.— Spores  of  Pestalozzia,  FIG.  57.—Bispora  mmiilioidee. 

jofnts,  each  joint  of  which  possesses  the  function  of  a  spore.  In 
some  instances  the  threads  are  connate,  side  by  side,  as  in  Torula 
hysterioides,  and  in  Speira,  being  concentrically  arranged  in 
laminae  in  the  latter  genus.  The  structure  in  Sporochisma  is 
very  peculiar,  the  joints  breaking  up  within  an  external  tube  or 
membrane.  The  spores  in  Sporidesmium  appear  to  consist  of 
irregular  masses  of  cells,  agglomerated  into  a  kind  of  compound 
spore.  Most  of  the  species  become  pulverulent,  and  the  spores 
are  easily  diffused  through  the  air  like  an  impalpable  dust. 
They  form  a  sort  of  link  between  the  stylospores  of  one  section 
of  the  Coniomycetes,  and  the  pseudospores  of  the  parasitical 
section. 

PSEUDOSPORE  is,  perhaps,  the  most  fitting  name  which  can  be 
applied  to  the  so-called  spores  of  the  parasitical  Coniomycetes. 
Their  peculiar  germination,  and  the  production  of  reproductive 
bodies  on  the  germ  tubes,  prove  their  analogy  to  some  extent 
with  the  prothallus  of  other  cryptogams,  and  necessitate  the 
use  of  some  term  to  distinguish  them  from  such  spores  as  are 
reproductive  without  the  intervention  of  a  promycelium.  The 


THE    SPORE    AND    ITS    DISSEMINATION. 


127 


differences  between  these  pseudospores  in  the  several  genera  are 
confined  in  some  instances  to  their  septation,  in  others  to  their 
mode  of  development.  In  the  jJBaUKacei  the  pseudospores  are 
more  or  less  globose,  produced  in  chains  within  an  external 
cellular  peridium.  In  the  Cceomacei  they  are  simple,  sometimes 
produced  in  chains,  and  sometimes  free,  with  or  without  a 
caduceous*ped  uncle.  In  the  Ustilaginei  they  are  simple,  dark 
coloured,  and  occasionally  attached  in  subglobose  masses,  as 
in  Urocystis  and  Thecapkora,  which,  are  more  or  less  compact. 


FIG.  58.-  Pseudospores  of 
Thecaphora  hyalina. 


FIG.  59. — Pseudospores 
of  Puccinia. 


*f 


FIG.  60.— Pseudospores  of 
Triphragmium. 


In  the  Puccinicei  the  distinctive  features  of  the  genera  are  based 
upon  the  more  or  less  complex  nature  of  the  pseudospores,  which 


FIQ.  61.— Pseudospores  of  Phragmidium 
bulbosum. 


FIG.  62. — Melampsora  salicina. 
(Winter  fruit.) 


are  bilocular  in  Puccinia,  trilocular  in  TripJiragmium,  multilocular 
in  Phragmidium*  &c.     In  the  curious  genus  Podisoma  the  septate 


128  FUNGI. 

pseudospores  are  involved  in  a  gelatinous  element,  The  diffu- 
sion of  these  fruits  is  more  or  less  complete  according  to  their 
compact  or  pulverulent  nature.  In  some  species  of  Puccinia  the 
sori  are  so  compact  that  they  remain  attached  to  the  leaves  long 
after  they  are  dead  and  fallen.  In  the  genus  Melampsora,  the 
wedge-shaped  winter-pseudospores  are  not  perfected  until  after 
the  dead  leaves  have  for  a  long  time  remained  and  alnfost  rotted 
on  the  ground.  It  is  probable  that  their  ultimate  diffusion  is 
only  accomplished  by  the  rotting  and  disintegration  of  the 
matrix.  In  the  Cceomacei,  Ustilaginei,  and  JEcidiacei  the  pseudo- 
spores  are  pulverulent,  as  in  some  species  of  Puccinia,  and  are 
easily  diffused  by  the  motion  of  the  leaves  in  the  wind,  or  the 
contact  of  passing  bodies.  Their  diffusion  in  the  atmosphere 
seems  to  be  much  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  Hyphomycetes. 
By  what  means  such  a  species  as  Puccinia  malvacearum,vflnicln.  has 
very  compact  sori,  has  become  within  so  short  a  period  diffused 
over  such  a  wide  area,  is  a  problem  which  in  the  present  state 
of  our  knowledge  must  remain  unsolved.  It  may  be  through 
minute  and  plentiful  secondary  spores. 

SPERMATIA  are  very  minute  delicate  bodies  found  associated 
with  many  of  the  epiphyllous  Coniomycetes,  and  it  has  been  sup- 
posed are  produced  in  conjunction  with  some  of  the  Sphceriacei, 
but  their  real  function  is  at  present  obscure,  and  the  name  is 
applied  rather  upon  conjecture  than  knowledge.  It  is  by  no 
means  improbable  that  spermatia  do  exist  extensively  amongst 
fungi,  but  we  must  wait  in  patience  for  the  history  of  their 
relationship. 

TEICHOSPORES  might  be  applied  better,  perhaps,  than  conidia 
to  the  spores  which  are  produced  on  the  threads  of  the  HypJio- 
mycetes.  Some  of  them  are  known  to  be  the  conidia  of  higher 
plants ;  but  as  this  is  by  no  means  the  case  with  all,  it  would  be 
assuming  too  much  to  give  the  name  of  conidia  to  the  whole. 
By  whatever  name  they  may  be  called,  the  spores  of  the 
Hyphomycetes  are  of  quite  a  different  type  from  any  yet  men- 
tioned, approximating,  perhaps,  most  closely  to  the  basidiospores 
of  the  Hymenomycetes  in  some,  and  Gasteromycetes  in  others ; 
as,  for  instance,  in  the  Sepedoniei  and  the  Trichodermacei.  The 


THE    SPORE    AND   ITS    DISSEMINATION.  129 

form  of  the  spores  and  their  size  differ  materially,  as  well  as  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  produced  on  the  threads.  In  many 
they  are  very  minute  and  profuse,  but  larger  and  less  plentiful 
in  the  Dematiei  than  in  the  Mucedines.  The  spores  of  some 
species  of  Helminthosporium  are  large  and  multiseptate,  calling 
to  mind  the  spores  of  the  Melanconiei.  Others  are  very  curious, 
being  stellate  in  Triposporium,  circinate  in  Helicoma  and  Helico- 
coryne,  angular  in  Gonatosporium,  and  ciliate  in  Menispora  cili- 
ata.  Some  are  produced  singly  and  some  in  chains,  and  in  some 
the  threads  are  nearly  obsolete.  In  Peronospora,  it  has  been 
demonstrated  that  certain  species  produce  minute  zoospores 
from  the  so-called  spores.  The  dissemination  of  the  minute 
spores  of  the  Mucedines  through  the  air  is  undoubted ;  rain  also 
certainly  assists  not  only  in  the  dispersion  of  the  spores  in 
this  as  in  other  groups,  but  also  in  the  production  of  zoospores 
which  require  moisture  for  that  purpose.  The  form  of  the 
threads,  and  the  mode  of  attachment  • 
of  the  spores,  is  far  more  variable 
amongst  the  Mucedines  than  the  form 
of  the  spores,  but  the  latter  are  in  all 
instances  so  slightly  attached  to  their 
supports  as  to  be  dissevered  by  the 
least  motion.  This  aids  also  in  the 
diffusion  of  the  spores  through  the 
atmosphere. 

SPORANGIA    are    produced     in     the 

T»7  Ti  ,1        , .  FIG.  63. — Spores  of  Helicocoryne. 

Physomycetes  usually  on    the  tips    or 

branches  of  delicate  threads,  and  these  when  mature  dehisce  and 
set  free  the  minute  sporidia.  These  are  so  small  and  uniform 
in  their  character  that  they  require  but  a  passing  mention. 
The  method  of  diffusion  agrees  much  with  that  of  the  Mucedines, 
the  walls  of  the  sporangia  being  usually  so  thin  and  delicate 
as  to  be  easily  ruptured.  Other  modes  of  fructification  prevail  in 
some  species  by  the  production  of  cysts,  which  are  the  result  of 
conjugation  of  the  threads.  These  bodies  are  for  the  most  part 
furnished  with  thicker  and  more  resistant  walls,  and  the  diffusion 
of  their  contents  will  be  regulated  by  other  circumstances  than 


130  FUNGI. 

those  which,  influence  the  dispersion  of  the  minute  sporidia  from 
the  terminal  cysts.  Probably  they  are  more  perennial  in  their 
character,  and  are  assimilated  more  to  the  oogonia  of  Cystopus 
and  Peronospora,  being  rather  of  the  nature  of  resting  spores, 
inasmuch  as  the  same  threads  usually  bear  the  terminal  fruits. 

THECASPORES  is  a  term  which  may  be  applied  generally  to  all 
sporidia  produced  in  asci,  but  these  are  in  turn  so  innumerable 
and  variable  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  treat  of  some  of  the 
groups  individually.     The  Thecaspore^  for  instance,  of  the  Tu- 
beracei  offer  several  features  whereby  they  may  be  distinguished 
from  other  thecaspores.     The  asci  in  which  these  sporidia  are 
generated  mostly  partake  of  a  broadly  saccate,  ovate  form.    The 
number  of  sporidia  contained  in  an  individual  ascus  is  usually 
less  than  in  the  majority  of  the  Ascomycetes^  and  the  sporidia 
approximate  more  nearly  to  the  globose  form.     Usually,  also, 
they   are    comparatively  large.      Many  have   been   figured    by 
Corda*  and  Tulasne.f     Three  types  of  spores  may  be  said  to 
prevail  in  the  Tuberacei :  the  smooth  spored, 
the  warted  or  spinulose,  and  the  areolate.   The 
first  of  these  may  be  represented  by  the  Ste- 
pJiensia    lombycina,    in    which    the    globose 
sporidia   are    quite    smooth    and   colourless. 
FIG.  64.— Sporidium  of  The    warted   sporidia    may    be   observed  in 
Genea    verrucosa,    the    spinulose    in     Tuber 
nitidum,  and   the   areolate  are   present  in  Tuber  cestivum    and 
Tuber  excavatum,  in  which  the  epispore  is  divided  into  polygonal 
alveoli,  bounded  by  thin,  membranaceous,  pro- 
minent partitions.     This  form  of  sporidium  is 
very  beautiful.     In  all  no  special  provision  is 
made  for  the  dissemination  of  the  sporidia, 
as,  from  their  subterranean  habit,  none  w.ould 
be    available    save    the   ultimate    dissolution 
FIG.  65.— Alveolate    of  the  external    integuments.      As  they    are 
sporidium  of  Tuber     g^^y  devoured   by   several   animals,  it  is 
possible   hat  they  may  be  dispersed  through  the  excrements. 

*   Corda,  "  Icones  Fungorura,"  vol.  vi.     Prague. 
t  Tulasne,  "Fungi  Hypogsei."     Paris. 


THE    SPORE   AND   ITS   DISSEMINATION. 


131 


In  the  Perisporiacei  the  perithecium  has  no  proper  orifice,  or 
ostiolum,  for  the  discharge  of  the  mature  sporidia,  which  are 
usually  small,  and  are  disseminated  by  the  irregular  rupture  of 
the  somewhat  fragile  conceptacles.  The  asci  are  usually  more 
or  less  saccate,  and  the  sporidia  approximate  to  a  globose  form. 
The  asci  are  often  very  diffluent.  In  Perisporium .  vulgare  the 
ovate  brown  sporidia  are  at  first,  and  for  some  time,  attached 
together  in  fours  in  a  concatenate  or  beaded  manner.  In  some 
species  of  Erysiphei  the  conceptacle  en- 
closes but  a  single  sporangium,  in  others 
several,  which  are  attached  together  at  the 
base.  In  some  species  the  sporangia  contain 
two,  in  others  four,  in  others  eight,  and  in 
others  numerous  sporidia.  In  Chcetomium 
the  asci  are  cylindrical,  and  in  most  cases 
the  coloured  sporidia  are  lemon-shaped. 
When  the  conceptacles  are  fully  matured, 
it  is  commonly  the  case  that  the  asci  are 
absorbed  and  the  sporidia  are  free  in  the 
interior  of  the  conceptacles. 

Of  the   fleshy    Discomycetes    the    genus 
Peziza  may  be  taken  as  the  type.       If  the 
structure  whith  prevails  in  this  genus  be 
brought  to  mind,  it    will    be  remembered 
that  the  hymenium  lines  an  expanded  cup, 
and  that  the  asci  are  packed  together,  side 
by  side,   with  their  apices    outwards,   and 
their  bases  attached  to  a  substratum  of  cells 
which  form   the  inner  layer  of  the  recep- 
tacle.     The  sporidia   are  usually  eight   in 
each    ascus,   either  arranged   in    single  or 
double  rows,    or    irregularly     grouped    to- 
gather.     The  asci  are  produced  in   succes-   Fio    w  _AgcI> 
sion  ;  the  later,  pressing  themselves  upwards  and  paraphyses  of 
between  those  previously  developed,  cause  bolus  (Boudier>- 
the  rupture  of  the  mature  asci  at  the  apex  and  the  ejection  of 
the  sporidia  with  considerable  force.     When  a  large  Peziza  is 


132  FUNGI. 

observed  for  a  time  a  whitish  cloud  will  be  seen  to  rise  suddenly 
from  the  surface  of  the  disc,  which  is  repeated  again  and  again 
whenever  the  specimen  is  moved.  This  cloud  consists  of 
sporidia  ejected  simultaneously  from  several  asci.  Sometimes 
the  ejected  sporidia  lie  like  frost  on  the  surface  of  the  disc. 
Theories  have  been  devised  to  account  for  this  sudden  extrusion 
of  the  sporidia,  in  Ascobohis,  and  a  few  species  of  Peziza, 
of  the  asci  also,  the  most  feasible  one  being  the  successive 
growth  of  the  asci  ;  contraction  of  the  cup  may  also  assist,  as 
well  as  some  other  less  potent  causes.  It  may  be  remarked 
here  that  the  sporidia  in  Peziza  and  Helotium  are  mostly  colour- 
less, whilst  in  Ascobolus  they  pass  through  pink  to  violet,  or 
dark  brown,  and  the  epispore,  which  is  of  a  waxy  nature,  be- 
comes fissured  in  a  more  or  less  reticulated  mariner. 

The  sporidia  in  Hysterium  proper  are  usually  coloured,  often 
multiseptate,  sometimes  fenestrate,  and  occasionally  of  consider- 
able  size.     There  is   no  evidence   that  the    sporidia   are   ever 
excluded  in  the  same  manner  as  in  Peziza, 
^A  the  lips  closing  over  the  disc  so  much  as  to 

^frr-M  prevent  this.     The  diffusion  of  the  sporidia 

JPIiffipi  probably  depends  on  the  dissolution  of  the 

asci,    and    hence   they   will   not  be  widely 
dispersed,  unless,  perhaps,  by  the  action  of 
wHi^B  rain. 

In  Tympanis,  asci  of  two  kinds  have  been 

W|  observed  in  some  species ;  one  kind  contain- 

\&-f  ing   an   indefinite  number   of  very  minute 

bodies  resembling  spermatia,  and  the  other 

FIG  67.-Sporidium  of    octogporous,  containing  sporidia  of  the  usual 

Ostreichmon  Amencanum. 

type. 

The  Sphariacei  include  an  almost  infinite  variety  in  the  form 
and  character  of  the  sporidia.  Some  of  these  are  indefinite  in 
the  number  contained  in  an  ascus,  although  the  majority  are 
eignt,  and  a  few  less.  In  the  genera  Torrubia  and  Hypocrea  the 
structure  differs  somewhat  from  other  groups,  inasmuch  as  in 
the  former  the  long  thread-like  sporidia  break  up  into  short 
joints,  and  in  the  latter  the  ascus  contains  sixteen  subglobose  or 


THE    SPORE    AND    ITS    DISSEMINATION. 


133 


subquadrate  sporidia.  Other  species  contain  linear  sporidia, 
which  are  often  the  length  of  the  ascus,  and  may  either  be  simple 
or  septate.  In  Spkaria  ulnaspora  the  sporidia  are  abruptly  bent 
at  the  second  joint.  Shorter  fusiform  sporidia  are  by  no  means 
uncommon,  varying  in  the  number  of  septa,  and  in  constriction 
at  the  joints  in  different  species.  Elliptic  or  ovate  sporidia  are 
common,  as  are  those  of  the  peculiar  form  which  may  be  termed 
sausage-shaped.  These  are  either  hyaline  or  coloured  of  some 
shade  of  brown.  Coloured  sporidia  of  this  kind  are  common  in 


FIG.  68.— Ascus  and  sporidia    FIG.  69.— Sporidium  of 
of  Hypocrea.  Sphceria  ulnaspora. 


p,o.  70.— SporidH  of  Falsa 
profusa  (Currey). 


Xylaria  and  Hypoxylon,  as  well  as  in  certain  species  of  the  section 
Superficiales.  Coloured  sporidia  are  often  large  and  beautiful : 
they  are  mostly  of  an  elongated,  elliptical  form,  or  fusiform.  As 
noteworthy  may  be  mentioned  the  sporidia  of  Melanconis  lanci- 

7 


134 


FUNGI. 


formis,  those  of  Valsa  profusa,  and  some  species  of  Massaria, 
the  latter  being  at  first  invested  with  a  hyaline  coat.  Some 
coloured  sporidia  have  hyaline  appendages  at  each  extremity,  as 


Fro.  71. — Sporidia  of  Massaria  fcedans. 
X  400. 


FIG.  72. — Sporidium  of  Melanconis 
bicoinis,  Cooke. 


in  Melanconis  Berkeleii,  and  an  allied  species,  Melanconis  bicornis, 
from  the  United  States,  also  some  dung  Spkfdritf,  as  S.  Jimiseda, 
included  under  the  proposed  genus  Sordana*  Hyaline  sporidia 
occasionally  exhibit  a  delicate  bristle-like  appendage  at  each 
extremity,  as  in  the  Valsa  thelebola,  or  with  two  additional  cilia 
at  the  central  constriction,  as  in  Valsa  taleola.  A  peculiar  form 


FIG.  73.— Caudate  sporidia  of  Sphcena  Jimiseda.       Fia.  74.— Sporidia  of  Valsa  thehbola. 

of  sporidium  is  present  in  certain  species  of  Spk&ria  found  on 
dung,  for  which  the  generic  name  of  Sporormia  has  been  pro- 

*  Winter,  "Die  Deutschen  Sordarien"  (1873). 


THE    SPORE    AND    ITS    DISSEMINATION. 


135 


posed,  in  which  the  sporidium  (as  in  Perisporium  vulgar  e) 
consists  of  four  coloured  ovate  joints,  which  ultimately  separate. 
Multiseptate  fenestrate  sporidia  are  not  uncommon  in  Oucurlii- 


FIG.  75.-Spoiidia  of 
Valsa  taleola.  x  400. 


Fio.  76.— Spori- 
dium of  Sjjorormia 
intermedia. 


FIG.  77 


taria  and  Pleospora,  as  well  as  in  Valsa  fenestrata  and  some  other 
species.  In  the  North  American  Sphtfria  putaminum  the  sporidia 
are  extraordinarily  large. 

The  dissemination  of  the  sporidia 
may,  from  identity  of  structure  in  the 
perithecium,  be  deemed  to  follow  alike 
method  in  all.  When  mature,  they  are 
in  a  great  measure  expelled  from  the 
mouth  of  the  perithecia,  as  is  evident 
in  species  with  large  dark  sporidia, 
such  as  exist  in  the  genera  Hypoxylon, 
Melanconis,  and  Massaria.  In  these 
genera  the  sporidia,  on  maturity,  may 
be  observed  blackening  the  matrix 
round  the  mouths  of  the  perithecia. 
As  moisture  has  an  evident  effect  in  producing  an  expul- 


FIG.  78.— Sporidium  of  Sphceria 
putaminum.   x  400. 


136  FUNGI. 

sion  of  sporidia  by  swelling  the  gelatinous  nucleus,  it  may 
be  assumed  that  this  is  one  of  the  causes  of  expulsion,  and 
therefore  of  aids  to  dissemination.  When  SplicericB  are  submitted 
to  extra  moisture,  either  by  placing  the  twig  which  bears  them 
on  damp  sand,  or  dipping  one  end  in  a  vessel  of  water,  the 
sporidia  will  exude  and  form  a  gelatinous  bead  at  the  orifice. 
There  may  be  other  methods,  and  possibly  the  successive  pro- 
duction of  new  asci  may  also  be  one,  and  the  increase  in  bulk 
by  growth  of  the  sporidia  another ;  but  of  tkis  the  evidence  is 
a  canty. 

Finally,  OOGONIA  may  be  mentioned  as  occurring  in  such 
genera  as  Peronospora  amongst  moulds,  Cystopus  amongst 
Uredines,  and  the  Saproleyniacete  amongst  the  Physomycetes. 
The  zoospores  being  furnished  with  vibratile  cilia,  are  for  some 
time  active,  and  need  only  water  in  which  to  disseminate  them- 
selves, and  this  is  furnished  by  rain. 

We  have  briefly  indicated  the  characteristics  of  some  of  the 
more  important  types  of  spores  to  be  found  in  fungi,  and  some 
of  the  modes  by  which  it  is  known,  or  presumed,  that  their 
dissemination  takes  place.  In  this  summary  we  have  been  com- 
pelled to  rest  content  with  suggestions,  since  an  exhaustive  essay 
would  have  occupied  considerable  space.  The  variability  in  the 
fruit  of  fungi,  in  so  far  as  we  have  failed  to  demonstrate,  will  be 
found  exhibited  in  the  illustrated  works  devoted  more  especially 
to  the  minute  species.* 

*  Corda,  "Icones  Fungorum,"  6  vols.  (1837-1842);  Sturm,  "  Deutschlands 
Flora,"  Pilze  (1841);  Tulasne,  "  Selecta  Fungorum  Carpologia;"  Bischoff, 
4  Kryptogamenkunde "  (1860);  Corda,  "Anleitung  zum  Studium  der  Myko- 
logie"  (1842)  ;  Fresenius,  "Beitragezur  Mykologie  "  (1850);  Nees  von  Esen- 
beck,  "  Das  System  der  Pilze"  (1816)  ;  Bonorden,  "Handbuch  der  Allgemeinen 
Mykologie  "  (1851). 


VII. 

GERMINATION  AND    GROWTH. 

IN  describing  the  structure  of  these  organisms  in  a  previous 
chapter,  the  modes  of  germination  and  growth  from  the  spores 
have  been  purposely  excluded  and  reserved  for  the  present  It 
may  be  assumed  that  the  reader,  having  followed  us  to  this 
poiiit,  is  prepared  for  our  observations  by  some  knowledge  of 
the  chief  features  of  structure  in  the  principal  groups,  and  of  the 
main  distinctions  in  the  classification,  or  at  least  sufficient  to 
obviate  any  repetition  here.  In  very  many  species  it  is  by  no 
means  difficult  to  induce  germination  of  the  spores,  whilst  in 
others  success  is  by  no  means  certain. 

M.  de  Seynes  made  the  Hymenomycetes  an  especial  object  of 
study,*  but  he  can  give  us  no  information  on  the  germination 
and  growth  of  the  spore.  Hitherto  almost  nothing  is  positively 
known.  As  to  the  form  of  the  spore,  it  is  always  at  first 
spherical,  which  it  retains  for  a  long  time,  while  attached  to 
the  basidia,  and  in  some  species,  but  rarely,  this  form  is  final,  as 
in  Ag.  terreus,  &c.  The  most  usual  form  is  either  ovoid  or  regu- 
larly elliptic.  All  the  Coprini  have  the  spores  oval,  ovoid,  more 
or  less  elongated  or  attenuated  from  the  hilum,  which  is  more 
translucent  than  the  rest  of  the  spore.  This  last  form  is  rather 
general  amongst  the  Leucospores,  in  Amanita,  Lepiota,  &c.  At 
other  times  the  spores  are  fusiform,  with  regularly  attenuated 
extremities,  as  in  Ag.  crmincus,  Fr.,  or  with  obtuse  extremities,  as 

*  Seynes,  J.  de,  "  Essai  d'une  Flore  Myeologique  de  la  Montpellier,"  &c. 
(1863),  p.  30. 


138  FUNGI. 

in  Ag.  ruiilans,  Sch.  In  Hygroplwrus  they  are  rather  irregular, 
reniform,  or  compressed  in  the  centre  all  round.  Hoffmann*  has 
given  a  figure  taken  from  Ag.  cliloroplianus,  and  Seynes  verified 
it  upon  Ag.  ceraceus,  Sow.  (See  figures  on  page  121.) 

The  exospore  is  sometimes  roughened,  with  more  or  less  pro- 
jecting warts,  as  maybe  seen  in  Russula,  which  much  resembles 
Lactarius  in  this  as  in  some  other  particulars.  The  spores  of 
the  Dermini  and  the  Hyporhodii  often  differ  much  from  the 
spherical  form.  In  Ag.pluteus,  Fr.,  and  Ag.  phaiocephalus,  Bull, 
there  is  already  a  commencement  of  the  polygonal  form,  but  the 
angles  are  much  rounded.  It  is  in  Ag.  sericeus,  Ag.  rubellus, 
&c.,  that  the  polygonal  form  becomes  most  distinct.  In  Dermini 
the  angles  are  more  or  less  pronounced,  and  become  rather  acute 
in  Ag.  murinus,  Sow.,  and  Ag.  ramosus,  Bull.  The  passage  from 
one  to  the  other  may  be  seen  in  the  stellate  form  of  the  conidia 
of  Nyctalis. 

It  is  almost  always  the  external  membrane  that  is  coloured, 
which  is  subject  to  as  much  variation  as  the  form.  The  more 
fine  and  more  delicate  shades  are  of  rose,  yellow-dun  or  yel- 
low, violet,  ashy-grey,  clear  fawn  colour,  yellow- orange,  olive- 
green,  brick-red*,  cinnamon-brown,  reddish-brown,  up  to  sepia- 
black  and  other  combinations.  It  is  only  by  the  microscope 
and  transparency  that  one  can  make  sure  of  these  tints  ;  upon 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  agglomerated  spores  the  colour  may  be 
distinguished  by  the  naked  eye.  Colour,  which  has  only  a  slight 
importance  when  considered  in  connection  with  other  organs, 
acquires  much  in  the  spores,  as  a  basis  of  classification. 

With  the  growth  of  Agarics  from  the  mycelium,  or  spawn,  we 
are  not  deficient  in  information,  but  what  are  the  conditions 
necessary  to  cause  the  spores  themselves  to  germinate  before  our 
eyes  and  produce  this  mycelium  is  but  too  obscure.  In  the  culti- 
vated species  we  proceed  on  the  assumption  that  the  spores  have 
passed  a  period  of  probation  in  the  intestines  of  the  horse,  and 
by  this  process  have  acquired  a  germinating  power,  so  that  when 
expelled  we  have  only  to  collect  them,  and  the  excrement  in  which 

*  IIoHman,  "  Icones  Analylicse  Fungorum." 


GERMINATION  AND  GROWTH. 


139 


they  are  concealed,  and  we  shall  secure  a  crop.*  As  to  other 
species,  we  know  that  hitherto  all  attempts  to  solve  the  mystery 
of  germination  and  cultivation  has  failed.  There  are  several 
species  which  it  would  be  most  desirable  to  cultivate  if  the  con- 
ditions could  be  discovered  which  are  essential  to  germi nation. f 
In  the  same  manner  the  Boleti  and  Hydnei — in  fact,  all  other 
hymenomycetal  fungi,  with  the  exception  of  the  Tremellini — still 
require  to  be  interrogated  by  persevering  experiment  and  close 
inquiry  as  to  their  mode  of  germination,  but  more  especially  as 
to  the  essential  conditions  under  which  alone  a  fruitful  mycelium 
is  produced. 

The  germination  of  the  spore  has  been 
observed  in  some  of  the  Tremellini. 
Tulasne  described  it  in  Tremella  vio- 
lacea.\  These  spores  are  white,  unilo- 
cular,  and  filled  with  a  plastic  matter 
of  homogeneous  appearance.  From  some 
portion  of  their  surface  an  elongated 
germ  filament  is  produced,  into  which 
the  contents  of  the  reproductive  cell  pass 
until  quite  exhausted.  Other  spores, 
perhaps  more  abundant,  have  a  very 
different  kind  of  vegetation.  From 
their  convex  side,  more  rarely  from  the 
outer  edge,  these  particular  spores  emit 
a  conical  process,  generally  shorter  than 
themselves,  and  directed  perpendicularly 
to  the  axis  of  their  figure.  This  appen- 
dnge  becomes  filled  with  protoplasm  at  the  expense 


FIG.  79. — (a)  Basidiaand  spores 
of  Exidia  spiculosa ;  (6)  Germi- 
nating spore. 

of   the 


*  The  spores  of  Agarics  which  are  devoured  by  flies,  however,  though  returned 
in  their  dung  in  an  apparently  perfect  state,  are  quite  effete.  It  is,  we  believe, 
principally  by  the  Syrphidce,  which  devour  pollen,  that  fungus  spores  are  con- 
sumed. 

t  All  attempts  at  Chiswick  failed  with  some  of  the  more  esculent  species,  and 
Mr.  Ingram  at  Belvoir,  and  the  late  Mr.  Henderson  at  Milton,  were  unsuccessful 
with  native  and  imported  spawn. 

£  Tulasne,  "On  the  Organization  of  the  Tremellini,"  "Ann.  des.  Sci.  Nat." 
am«  eer.  xix.  (1853),  p.  193. 


140  FUNGI. 

spore,  and  its  freehand  pointed  extremity  finally  dilated  into 
a  sac,  at  first  globose  and  empty.  This  afterwards  admits 
into  its  cavity  the  plastic  matter  contained  in  its  support, 
and,  increasing,  takes  exactly  the  form  of  a  new  spore, 
without,  however,  quite  equalling  in  size  the  primary  or 
mother  spore.  The  spore  of  the  new  formation  long  retains  its 
pedicel,  and  the  mother  spore  which  produced  it,  but  these 
latter  organs  are  then  entirely  empty  and  extremely  transparent. 
Sometimes  two  secondary  spores  are  thus  engendered  from  the 
same  spore,  and  their  pedicels  may  be  implanted  on  the  same  or 
on  different  sides,  so  as  to  be  parallel  in  the  former  case,  and 
growing  in  opposite  directions  in  the  latter.  The  fate  of  these 
secondary  spores  was  not  determined. 

In  Dacrymyces  deliquescent  are  found  mingled  amongst  the 
spores  immense  numbers  of  small  round  or  ovoid  unilocular 
bodies,  without  appendages  of  any  kind,  which  long  puzzled 
mycologists.  Tulasne  ascertained  that  they  are  derived  from 
the  spores  of  this  fungus  when  they  have  become  free,  and  rest 
on  the  surface  of  the  hymenium.  Each  of 
the  cells  of  the  spore  emits  exteriorly  one 
or  several  of  these  corpuscles,  supported  on 
very  short  slender  pedicels,  which  remain 
after  the  corpuscles  are  detached  from 
them.  This  latter  circumstance  evidences 
that  new  corpuscles  succeed  the  firstborn 
one  on  each  pedicel  as  long  as  there  remains 
any  plastic  matter  within  the  spore.  The 
latter,  in  fact,  in  consequence  of  this 
labour  of  production,  becomes  gradually 
deiiquescens.  emptied,  and  yet  preserves  the  generative 
pedicels  of  the  corpuscles,  even  when  it  no  longer  contains  any 
solid  or  coloured  matter.  These  pedicels  are  not  all  in  the  same 
plane,  as  may  be  ascertained  by  turning  the  spore  on  its  longi- 
tudinal axis  ;  but  it  often  seems  to  be  so  when  they  are  looked 
at  in  profile,  on  account  of  the  very  slight  distance  which  then 
separates  them  one  from  another.  It  will  also  be  remarked  that 
they  are  in  this  case  often  implanted  all  on  the  same  side  of  the 


GEBMINATION  AND  GROWTH.  141 

reproductive  body,  and  most  often  on  its  convex  side.  Their 
fecundity  is  exhausted  with  the  plastic  contents  of  the  spore. 
The  corpuscles,  when  placed  in  the  most  favourable  conditions, 
have  never  given  the  least  sign  of  vegetation ;  they  have  also 
remained  for  a  long  time  in  water  without  experiencing  any 
appreciable  alteration. 

All  the  individuals  of  Dacrymyces  deliquescem  do  not  produce 
these  corpuscles  in  the  same  abundance ;  those  which  bear  the 
most  are  recognizable  by  the  pale  tint  of  the  reproductive  dust 
with  which  they  are  covered;  in  others,  where  this  dust  preserves 
its  golden  appearance,  only  a  few  corpuscles  are  found.  The 
spores  which  produce  corpuscles  do  not  appear  at  all  apt  to 
germinate.  On  the  other  hand,  multitudes  of  spores  will  germi- 
nate which  had  not  produced  any  corpuscles.  Tulasne  remarks 
on  this,  that  these  observations  would  authorize  us  to  think  that 
all  spores,  though  perfectly  identical  to  our  eyes,  have  not, 
without  distinction,  the  same  fate,  nor  doubtless  the  same  nature ; 
and,  in  the  second  place,  that  these  two  kinds  of  bodies,  if  they 
are  not  always  isolated,  yet  are  most  frequently  met  with  on 
distinct  individuals.  This  author  claims  for  the  corpuscles  in 
question  that  they  are  spermatia,  and  thinks  that  their  origin  is 
only  so  far  unusual  in  that  they  proceed  from  veritable  spores. 

The  whole  of  the  Gasteromycetes  have  as  yet  to  be  challenged 
as  to  the  mode  and  conditions  of  germination  and  development. 
It  is  probable  that  these  will  not  materially  differ  from  those 
which  prevail  in  Hymenomycetes. 

The  germination  in  ^Ecidium  has  been  followed  out  by  Tulasne,* 
either  by  placing  the  pseudospores  in  a  drop  of  water,  or  confining 
them  in  a  moist  atmosphere,  or  by  placing  the  leaves  on  which 
the  jEcidium  nourishes  upon  water.  The  pseudospores  plunged 
in  water  germinated  more  readily  than  the  others.  If  the  con- 
ditions were  favourable,  germination  would  take  place  in  a  few 
hours.  ^Ecidium  Ranunculacearum,  D.  C.,  on  leaves  of  figwort, 
gives  rarely  more  than  one  germinating  filament,  which  soon 
attains  three  times  the  length  of  the  diameter  of  the  pseudospore. 
This  filament  generally  remains  simple,  sometimes  torulose,  and 
*  Tulasne,  "  Memoire  sur  les  UrediixScs." 


142 


FUNGI. 


distorted  in  a  long  spire.  Sometimes  it  has  been  seen  divided 
into  two  branches,  nearly  equal  to  each  other.  The  spore  in 
germinating  empties  itself  of  its  plastic  contents,  contracts,  and 
diminishes  in  size.  The  pseudospores  of  ^Ecidium  crassum,  P., 
emit  three  long  filaments,  which  describe  spirals,  imitating  the 
twistings  of  the  stem  of  a  bean  or  bindweed.  In  jEcidium  Violce, 
Sclmm,  one  filament  is  produced,  which  frequently  rolls  up  its 
anterior  extremity  into  a  spire,  but  more  often  this  same  extremity 
rises  in  a  large  ovoid,  irregular  vesicle,  which  continues  the  axis 
of  the  filament,  or  makes  with  it  a  more  or  less  decided  angle. 
In  whatever  manner  placed,  this  vesicle  attracts  to  it  all  the 
orange  protoplasm,  and  hardly  does  this  become  settled  and 
complete  before  the  vesicle  becomes  the  starting  point  of  a  new 
development,  for  it  begins  to  produce  at  its  apex  a  filament, 
more  slender  than  the  previous  one,  stiff,  and  unbranched. 

According  to  M.  Tulasne,  the  germination  of  the  pseudospores 
of  JEcidium  Euphorbia  on  Euphorbia  sylvatica  differ  in  some 
respects  from  the  preceding.  When  dropped 
upon  water  these  spores  very  soon  emit  a 
short  tube,  which  ordinarily  curves  in  an 
arch  or  circle,  almost  from  its  origin,  attain- 
ing a  length  of  from  three  to  six  times  the 
diameter  of  the  spore ;  then  this  tube  gives 
rise  to  four  spicules,  each  of  which  pro- 
duces a  small  obovate  or  reniform  sporule  ; 
the  generation  of  these  sporules  absorbs  all 
the  plastic  matter  contained  in  the  germ- 
tube,  which  permits  of  the  observation  that 
it  was  divided  into  four  cells  correspond- 
ing with  the  number  of  spicules.  These 
FIG.  si.-GerminationofsP°rules  germinate  very  rapidly  from  an 
jEcidium  Euphorbia  (syiva-  indefinite  point  of  their  surface,  emitting  a 
eicce),  Tulasne.  filiform  process,  which  is  flexuous  and  very 

delicate,  not  extending  more  in  length  than  three  times  that  of 
the  long  axis  of  the  sporule,  often  less,  reproducing  at  its 
summit  a  new  sporule,  differing  in  form  and  size  from  that 
which  preceded  it.  This  sporule  of  the  second  formation  be- 


GEHr.IINATION   AND    GROWTH.  143 

comes  at  its  apex  a  vital  centre,  and  sprouts  one  or  more  linear 
buds,  of  which  the  elongation  is  occasionally  interrupted  by  the 
formation  of  vesicular  swellings.  As  Tulasne  observes,  the 
pseudospores  of  the  JEcidium  and  the  greater  number  of  Uredines 
are  easily  wetted  with  water  before  arriving  at  maturity ;  but 
when  they  are  ripe,  on  the  contrary,  they  appear  to  be  clothed 
with  a  greasy  matter  which  protects  them  from  the  liquid, 
forcing  them  almost  all  to  rest  on  the  surface. 

The  pseudospores  of  Jtoestelia  are  produced  in  strings  or  chap- 
lets,  as  in  JEcidium,  with  this  difference,  that  instead  of  being 
contiguous  they  are  separated  by  narrow  isthmuses.  The  ripe 
pseudospores  are  enveloped  in  a  thick  tegument,  of  a  dark  brown 
colour.  They  germinate  readily  on  water,  producing  a  filament 
fifteen  times  as  long  as  the  diameter  of  the  spore.  This  filament 
is  sometimes  rolled  or  curved.  Towards  its  extremity  it  exhibits 
protuberances  which  resemble  the  rudiments  of  ramuli,  or  they 
terminate  in  a  vesicle  which  gives  rise  to  a  slender  filament. 
The  tegument  of  these  pseudospores,  above  all  in  those  which 
have  germinated,  and  have  consequently  become  more  trans- 
parent, it  is  easy  to  see  has  many  pores,  or  round  ostioles. 

In  Peridermium  the  pseudospores,  when  dropped  upon  water, 
germinate  at  any  point  of  their  surface.  Sometimes  two  unequal 
filaments  issue  from  the  same  spore.  After  forty-eight  hours 
of  vegetation  in  the  air,  the  greater  part  had  already  emitted  a 
multitude  of  thick  little  branches,  themselves  either  simple  or 
branched,  giving  to  the  filaments  a  peculiar  aspect.  Tulasne  did 
not  on  any  occasion  observe  the  formation  of  secondary  spores. 

In  the  Uredines  proper  the  germination  seems  to  be  some- 
what similar,  or  at  least  not  offering  sufficient  differences  to 
warrant  special  reference  in  Vredo,  Trichobasis,  Lecyihea,  &c. 
In  Coleosporium  there  are  two  kinds  of  spores,  one  kind  consist- 
ing of  pulverulent  single  cells,  and  the  other  of  elongated  sep- 
tate cells,  which  break  up  into  obovate  joints.  Soon  after  the 
maturity  of  the  pulverulent  spores,  each  begins  to  emit  a  long 
tube,  which  is  habitually  simple,  and  produces  at  its  summit  a 
reproductive  cellule,  or  reniform  sporule.  The  orange  protoplasm 
passes  along  the  colourless  tubes  to  the  terminal  sporule  at  the 


144 


FUNGI. 


end  of  its  vegetation.  The  two  forms  of  spores  in  this  genus 
are  constantly  found  on  the  same  leaf,  and  in  the  same  pulvinule, 
but  generally  the  pulverulent  spores  abound  at  the  commence- 
ment  of  the  summer.  The  reniform  sporules  begin  to  germinate 
in  a  great  number  as  soon  as  they  are  free  ;  some  few  extend  a 


FIG.  82.— Germinating  pseudospores  of 
(b)  Coleosporium  Sonchi;  (s  s)  secondary 
spores,  or  sporules  (Tulasne). 


Fio.  83.— Germinating  pseudospore  (6)  of 
Melampsora  betuiina  (Tulasne). 


filament  which  remains  simple  and  uniform,  but  more  commonly 
it  forms  at  its  extremity  a  second  sporule.  If  this  does  not 
become  isolated,  to  play  an  independent  life,  the  filament  is 
continued,  and  new  vesicles  are  repeated  many  times. 

In  Melampsora  the  summer  spores  are  of  the  Lecythea  type, 
and  were  included  in  that  genus  till  their  relation  with  Melamp- 
sora  was  clearly  made  out.  The  winter  spores  are  in  solid 
pulvinules,  and  their  fructification  takes  place  towards  the  end 
of  winter  or  in  the  spring.  This  phenomenon  consists  in  the 


GERMINATION   AND    GROWTH.  145 

production  of  cylindrical  tubes,  which  start  from  the  upper 
extremity  of  the  wedge-shaped  spores,  or  more  rarely  from  the 
base.  These  tubes  are  straight  or  twisted,  simple  or  bifurcated, 
and  each  of  them  very  soon  emits  four  monosporous  spicules,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  become  septate.  The  sporules  are  in 
this  instance  globose. 

In  Uromyces  germination  follows  precisely 
the  same  type  as  that  of  the  upper  cell  of 
Puccinia  ;  in  fact,  Tulasne  states  that  it  is 
very  difficult  to  say  in  what  they  differ  from 
the  PuccinicB  which  are  accidentally  unilo- 
cular. 

In  Cystopus  a  more  complex  method  pre- 
vails, which  will  be  examined  more  closely 
hereafter. 

In  Puccinia,  as  already  observed  when 
describing  their  structure,  the  pseudospores 
are  two- celled.  From  the  pores  of  each  cell, 
which  are  near  the  central  septum,  springs 
a  clavate  tube,  which  attains  two  or  three 
times  the  total  length  of  the  fruit,  and  of 
which  the  very  obtuse  extremity  curves 
more  or  less  in  the  manner  of  a  crozier.* 
This  tube,  making  a  perfectly  uncoloured  Fm  g4  _ 
transparent  membrane,  is  filled  with  a  pseudospore  of  Uromyce 
granular  and  very  pale  plastic  matter  at  o,PPendicuiatu».  (Tulasne.) 
the  expense  of  the  generative  cell,  which  is 
soon  rendered  vacant ;  then  it  gives  rise  to  four  spicules,  usually 
on  the  same  side,  and  at  the  summit  of  these  produces  a  reni- 
form  cellule.  The  four  sporules  so  engendered  exhaust  all  the 
protoplasm  at  first  contained  in  the  generative  cell,  so  that  their 
united  capacity  proves  to  be  evidently  much  insufficient  to  con- 
tain it,  the  more  so  as  it  leads  to  the  belief  that  this  matter 
undergoes  as  it  condenses  an  elaboration  which  diminishes  its 
size.  In  all  cases  the  spicule  originates  before  the  sporule  which 
it  carries,  and  also  attains  its  full  length  when  the  sporule  ap- 
*  Tulasne,  in  his  "  Memoirs  on  the  Uredines." 


146 


FUNGI. 


FIG.  85.— Germinating  pseudospore  of 
Paccinia  Molinice.     (Tulasne.) 


pears.  The  form  of  the  latter  is  at  first  globular,  then  ellipsoid, 
and  more  or  less  curved.  All  these  phases  of  vegetation  are 
accomplished  in  less  than  twelve  hours,  and  if  the  spore  is 

mature  and  ready  for  germina- 
tion, it  is  sufficient  to  provoke  it 
by  keeping  the  pseudospores  in  a 
humid  atmosphere.  During  this 
process  the  two  cells  do  not  sepa- 
rate, nor  does  one  commence  ger- 
mination before  the  other,  but 
both  simultaneously.  When  the 
sporules  are  produced,  the  proto- 
spore,  somewhat  analogous  to  a 
prothallus,  has  performed  its 
functions  and  decays.  Towards 
the  time  of  the  falling  of  the 
sporules  they  are  nearly  all 
divided  into  four  unequal  cells 
by  transverse  and  parallel  septa. 

These  sporules  in  time  produce,  from  any  point  on  their  surface, 
a  filament,  which  reproduces  a  new  sporule,  resembling  the  first, 

but  generally  smaller.  This 
sporule  of  the  second  genera- 
tion ordinarily  detaches  itself 
from  its  support  before  germi- 
nating. 

The  pseudospores  of  Triphrag- 
mium  ulmaricB  have  been  seen  in 
April  germinating  on  old  leaves 
of  the  meadowsweet  which  sur- 
vived the  winter,  whilst  at  the 
same  time  new  tufts  of  the  spores 
were  being  developed  on  the 
leaves  of  the  year.  These  fruits 

FIG.  86.-Germinating  pseudospore  of      of  the '  Spring    vegetation    would 

Triphragmium  ulmarice.     (Tulasoe.)  A    . 

not  germinate    the  same   year. 
Each  cell  in  germination  emits  a  long  cylindrical  filament,  con- 


GERMINATION   AND    GROWTH.  147 

taming  a  brownish  protoplasm,  on  which  four  spicules,  bearing 
as  many  sporules,  are  generated. 

The  germination  of  the  black  fruits  of  Phragmidium  only  ap- 
pears to  take  place  in  the  spring.  It  greatly  resembles  that  in 
Puccinia,  except  that  the  filament  is  shorter,  and  the  sporules 
are  spherical  and  orange-coloured,  instead  of  being  kidney- 
shaped  and  pale.  In  the  species  found  on  the  leaves  of  the 
common  bramble,  the  filament  emitted  by  each  cell  attains  three 
or  four  times  the  length  of  the  fruit.  The 
granular  orange  protoplasm  which  fills  it 
passes  ere  long  into  the  sporules,  which 
are  engendered  at  the  extremity  of  pointed 
spicules.  After  the  long  warty  fruits  are 
emptied  of  their  contents  they  still  seem 
as  dark  as  before,  but  the  pores  which  are 
pierced  in  the  sides,  through  which  the 
germinating  filaments  have  proceeded,  are 
more  distinctly  visible. 

It  will  be  observed  that  throughout  all 
these  allied  genera  of  Uromyces,  Puccinia, 
Triphragmium,  and  Phragmidium  the  same 
type  of  germination  prevails,  which  confirms 
the  accuracy  of  their  classification  together, 
and  renders  still  less  probable  the  sup- 
posed affinity  of  Phragmidium  with  Spori- 
desmium.  which  was  at  one  time  held  by 

,       .    ,       ,  ,  .   ,     .  FIG.   87.  —  Germinating 

very  astute  mycologists,  but  which  is  now  pseudospore  of  Phragmi- 
abandoned.  This  study  of  germination  dium  buibosum.  (Tuiasne.) 
leads  also  to  a  very  definite  conclusion  with  regard  to  the  genus 
Uromyces — that  it  is  much  more  closely  related  to  Puccinia  and 
its  immediate  allies  than  to  other  unicellular  Uredines. 

The  germination  of  the  pseudospores  of  the  gelatinous  Ure- 
dines of  the  genus  Podisoma  was  studied  by  Tuiasne.*  These 

*  Mr.  Berkeley  has  lately  published  a  species  under  the  name  of  P.  Ellisii, 
in  which  the  gelatinous  element  is  scarcely  discernible  till  the  plant  is  moistened. 
There  are  two  septa  in  this  species,  and  another  species  or  form  has  lately  been 
received  from  Mr.  Ellis  which  has  much  shorter  pedicels,  and  resembles  more 


148  FUNGI. 

pretended  spores,  he  writes,  are  formed  of  two  large  conical  cells, 
opposed  by  their  base  and  easily  separating.  They  vary  in  length. 
The  membrane  of  which  they  are  formed  is  thin  and  completely 
colourless  in  most  of  them,  though  much  thicker  and  coloured 
brown  in  others.  It  is  principally  the  spores  with  thin  mem- 
branes that  emit  from  near  the  middle  very  obtuse  tubes,  into 
which  by  degrees,  as  they  elongate,  the  contents  of  the  parent 
utricles  pass.  Each  of  the  two  cells  of  the  supposed  spore  may 
originate  near  its  base  four  of  these  tubes,  opposed  to  each  other 
at  their  point  of  origin,  and  their  subsequent  direction  ;  but  it  is 
rather  rare  for  eight  tubes,  two  by  two,  to  decussate  from  the 
same  spore  or  basidium.  Usually  there  are  only  two  or  three 


FIG.  88. — Germinating  pseudospores  of  Podisoma  Juniperi.    (Tulasne.) 

which  are  completely  developed,  and  these  tend  together  towards 
the  surface  of  the  fungus,  which  they  pass,  and  expand  at  liberty 
in  the  air.  The  tubes  generally  become  thicker  by  degrees  as 
they  elongate,  some  only  slightly  exceeding  the  length  of  the 
protospores.  Others  attain  three  or  four  times  that  length, 
according  to  the  greater  or  less  distance  between  the  protospore 
and  the  surface  of  the  plant.  In  the  longest  tubes  it  is  easy  to 
observe  how  the  colouring  matter  passes  to  their  outer  extremity, 

closely  Puccinia,  from  which  it  is  chiefly  distinguished  by  its  revivescent 
character. 


GERMINATION  AND  GROWTH.  149 

leaving  the  portion  nearest  to  the  parent  cell  colourless  and 
lifeless.  When  nearly  attaining  their  ultimate  dimensions,  all 
the  tubes  are  divided  towards  their  outer  extremity  by  transverse 
septa  into  unequal  cells  ;  then  simple  and  solitary  processes,  of 
variable  length  and  form,  but  attenuated  upwards,  proceed  from 
each  segment  of  the  initial  tube,  and  produce  at  their  extremity 
an  oval  spore  (teleutospore,  Tul.),  which  is  slightly  curved  and 
unilocular.  These  spores  absorb  all  the  orange  endochrome  from 
the  original  tubes.  They  appear  in  immense  numbers  on  the 
surface  of  the  fungus,  and  when  detached  from  their  spicules 
fall  upon  the  ground  or  on  any  object  which  may  be  beneath 
them.  So  freely  are  they  deposited  that  they  may  be  collected 
on  paper,  or  a  slip  of  glass,  like  a  fine  gold-coloured  powder. 
Again,  these  secondary  spores  (teleutospores)  are  capable  of 
germination,  and  many  of  them  will  be  found  to  have  germinated 
on  the  surface  of  the  Podisoma  whence  they  originated.  The 
germ  filament  which  they  produce  springs  habitually  from  the 
side,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  hilum,  which  indicates  the 
point  of  attachment  to  the  original  spicule.  These  filaments 
will  attain  to  from  fifteen  to  twenty  times  the  diameter  of  the 
spore  in  length  before  branching,  and  are  in  themselves  exceed- 
ingly delicate.  The  tubes  which  issue  from  the  primary  spores 
(protospores,  Tnl.)  are  not  always  simple,  but  sometimes  forked  ; 
and  the  cells  which  are  ultimately  formed  at  their  extremities, 
though  producing  filiform  processes,  do  not  always  generate 
secondary  spores  (teleutospores)  at  their  apices.  This  mode  of 
germination,  it  will  be  seen,  resembles  greatly  that  which  takes 
place  in  Puccinia. 

The  germination  of  the  Ustilagines  was  in  part  examined  by 
Tulasne,  but  since  has  received  accessions  through  the  labours 
of  Dr.  A.  Fischer  von  Waldheixn.*  Nothing,  however,  of  any 
importance  is  added  to  our  knowledge  of  the  germination  of 
Tilletia,  which  was  made  known  as  early  as  1847. t  After  some 

*  Von  Waldheim,  on  the  "  Development  of  the  Ustilaginese,"  in  "  Pringsheim's 
Jahrbucher,"  vol.  vii.  (1869)  ;  translated  in  "  Transactions  of  N.  Y.  State 
Agricultural  Society  for  1870." 

t  Berkeley,  on  the  "Propagation  of  Bunt,"  in  "Trans.  Hort.  Soc-  London," 


150 


FUNGI. 


days  a  little  obtuse  tube  is  protruded  through  the  epispore, 
bearing  at  its  apex  long  fusiform  bodies,  which  are  the  sporules 
of  the  first  generation.  These  conjugate  by  means  of  short 
transverse  tubes,  after  the  manner  of  the  threads  of  Zygnema. 

Afterwards  long  elliptical 
sporules  of  the  second  gene- 
ration are  produced  on  short 
pedicels  by  the  conjugated 
fusiform  bodies  of  the  first 
generation.  (Fig.  89,  ss.) 
Ultimately  these  sporules  of 
the  second  generation  germi- 
nate, and  generate,  on  short 
spicules,  similar  sporules  of  a 
third  generation.  (Fig.  89, 

St.} 

In  Ustilago  (flosculorum) 
germination  takes  place 
readily  in  warm  weather.  The 
germ  tube  is  rather  smaller 
at  its  base  than  further  on.  In 
from  fifteen  to  eighteen  hours  the  contents  become  coarsely 
granular ;  at  the  same  time  little  projections  appear  on  the 
tube  which  are  narrowed  at  the  base,  into  which  some  of  the 
protoplasm  passes.  These  ultimately  mature  into  sporules. 
At  the  same  time  a  terminal  sporule  generally  appears  on  the 
threads.  Secondary  sporules  frequently  grow  from  the  primary, 
which  are  rather  smaller,  and  these  occasionally  give  rise  to  a 
third  generation. 

In  Urocystis  (pompJiolygodes)  the  germinating  tubes  spring 
exclusively  from  the  darker  central  cells  of  the  clusters.  From 
these  are  developed  at  their  extremity  three  or  four  linear 
bodies,  as  in  Tilletia,  but  after  this  no  further  development  has 
as  yet  been  traced.  It  may  be  remarked  here  that  Waldheim 
observed  similar  conjugation  of  the  sporules  in  some  species  of 


FIG.  89.— Germinating  pseudospore  (g)  of 
Tilletia  caries  with,  secondary  spores  in  con- 
jugation. (Tul.) 


ii.  (1847),  p.  113;  Tulasne,   second  memoir,  in   "Ann.  des.  Sci.  Nat."  ii.  (4< 
ser.),  p.  77  ;  Cooke,  in  "  Journ.  Quekett  Micro.  Club,"  i.  p.  170. 


GERMINATION    AND    GROWTH. 


151 


FIG.  90.— Pseudospore  of  Ustilago  recep- 
taculorurn  in  germination,  and  secondary 
spores  in  conjugation.  (Tul.) 

which  are  developed    on  the 


Ustilago  as  have  been   remarked  in   the  sporules   of   the  first 
generation  in  Tilletia. 

Returning  to  Cystopus,  as  the  last  of  the  Uredines,  we  must 
briefly  recapitulate  the  observations  made  by  Professor  de  Bary,* 
who,  by  the  bye,  claims  for  them  an  affinity  with  Peronospora 
(Mucedines  but  too  well  known 
in  connection  with  the  potato 
disease),  and  not  with  the  Ure- 
dines and  their  allies.  In  this 
genus  there  are  two  kinds  oT 
reproductive  organs,  those  pro- 
duced on  the  surface  of  the  plant 
bursting  through  the  cuticle  in 
white  pustules,  and  which  De 
Bary  terms  conidia,  which  are 
generated  in  chains,  and  certain 
globose  bodies  termed  oogonia, 
mycelium  in  the  internal  tissues  of  the  foster  plant.  When  the 
conidia  are  sown  on  water  they  rapidly  absorb  the  moisture,  and 
swell;  the  centre  of  one  of  the 
extremities  soon  becomes  a  large 
obtuse  papilla  resembling  the 
neck  of  a  bottle.  This  is  filled 
with  a  granular  protoplasm,  in 
which  vacuoles  are  formed. 
Soon,  however,  these  vacuoles 
disappear,  and  very  fine  lilies  of 
demarcation  separate  the  pro- 
toplasm into  from  five  to  eight  FIG.  91.— Conidia  and  zoospores  of  Cys- 

,    ,      -.    .  . .  ,  to  pus    candidus ;    a.    conidium     with    the 

polyhedriC    portions,     each     pre-  plasma    divided ;    b.   zoospores    escaping  ; 

Tixi      f  •    j.1  i  J  c-  zoospores  escaped  from  the  conidium; 

Sentmg    a   little    famtly-COloured  d.  active  zoospores  ;e.  zoospores,  having  lost 

vacuole  in  the  centre  (a).     Soon  their  cUia>  <*>™™™™*  to  germinate, 
after  this  division  the  papilla  at  the  extremity  swells,  opens  itself, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  five  to  eight  bodies  which  had  formed 
in  the  interior  are  expelled  one  by  one  (b).     These  are  zoospores, 

*  De  Bary,    "  Recherches,"  &c.  in   "  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles  "  (4me 
Be>.),  xx.  p.  5  ;  Cooke  in  "  Pop.  Sci.  Rev."  iii.  (1864),  p.  459. 


152  FUNGI. 

which  at  first  take  a  lenticular  form,  and  group  themselves  before 
the  mouth  of  the  parent  cell  in  a  globose  mass  (c.)  Very  soon, 
however,  they  begin  to  move,  and  then  vibratile  cilia  show  them- 
selves (d),  and  by  means  of  these  appendages  the  entire  globule 
moves  in  an  oscillating  manner  as  one  by  one  the  zoospores 
disengage  themselves,  each  becoming  isolated  and  swimming 
freely  in  the  surrounding  fluid.  The  movement  is  precisely 
that  of  the  zoospores  of  Algse. 

The  generation  of  the  zoospores  commences  within  from  an 
hour  and  a  half  to  three  hours  after  the  sowing  of  the  conidia  on 
water.  From  the  oogonia,  or  resting  spores,  similar  zoospores, 
but  in  greater  number,  are  generated  in  the  same  manner,  and 
their  conduct  after  becoming  free  is  identical.  Their  movements 
in  the  water  usually  last  from  two  to  > three 
hours,  then  they  abate,  the  cilia  disappear, 
and  the  spore  becomes  immovable,  takes  a 
globose  form,  and  covers  itself  with  a 
membrane  of  cellulose.  Afterwards  the 
spore  emits,  from  any  point  whatever  of  its 
surface,  a  thin,  straight  or  flexuous  tube, 
which  attains  a  length  of  from  two  to  ten 
times  the  diameter  of  the  spore.  The  ex- 
tremity becomes  clavate  or  swollen,  after 
FIG.  92^Sting  spore  *ne  manner  of  a  vesicle,  which  receives  by 
of  cystopus  candidus  with  degrees  the  whole  of  the  protoplasm, 
zoospores  escaped.  -^  Bary  ^ea  pr()cee(js  to  describe  experi- 

ments which  he  had  performed  by  watering  growing  plants 
with  these  zoospores,  the  result  being  that  the  germinating 
tubes  did  not  penetrate  the  epidermis,  but  entered  by  the 
stomates,  and  there  put  forth  an  abundant  mycelium  which 
traversed  the  intercellular  passages.  Altogether  the  germina- 
tion of  these  conidia  or  zoospores  offers  so  many  differences 
from  the  ordinary  germination  of  the  Uredines,  and  is  so  like 
that  which  prevails  in  Peronospora,  in  addition  to  the  fact  of 
both  genera  producing  winter  spores  or  oogonia,  that  we  cannot 
feel  surprised  that  the  learned  mycologist  who  made  these 
observations  should  claim  for  Cystopus  an  affinity  with  Perono* 


GERMINATION  AND  GROWTH.  153 

spora  rather  than  with  the  plants  so  long  associated  with  it 
amongst  the  Coniomycetes. 

In  passing  from,  these  to  the  Mucedines,  therefore,  we  cannot 
do  so  more  naturally  than  by  means  of  that  genus  of  white 
moulds  to  which  we  have  just  alluded.  The  erect  branched 
threads  bear  at  the  tip  of  their  branchlets  spores,  or  conidia, 
which  conduct  themselves  in  a  like  manner  to  the  organs  so 
named  in  Gystopus,  and  oogonia  or  resting  spores  developed  on 
the  mycelium  within  the  tissues  of  the  foster  plant  also  give 
origin  to  similar  zoospores. 

The  conidia  are  borne  upon  erect,  elongated  filaments,  origi- 
nating from  the  creeping  mycelium.  These  threads  are  hollow, 
and  rarely  septate;  the  upper  portion  divided  into  numerous 
branches,  and  these  again  are  subdivided,  the  ultimate  ramuli 
each  terminated  by  a  single  conidium.  This  body  when  mature 
is  oval  or  elliptical,  filled  with  protoplasm,  but  there  is  a  diver- 
sity in  their  mode  of  germination.  In  the  greater  part,  of 
which  P.  effusa  may  be  taken  as  an  example,  the  conidia  have 
the  function  of  simple  spores.  Placed  in  favourable  conditions, 
each  of  them  puts  forth  a  germ- tube,  the  formation  of  which 
does  not  differ  in  any  essential  point  from  what  is  known  of  the 
spores  of  the  greater  part  of  fungi. 

The  short  oval  conidia  of  P.  gangliformis  have  little  obtuse 
papilla  at  their  apex,  and  it  is  at  this  point  that  germination 
commences. 

The  conidia  of  P.  densa  are  similar,  but  the  germination  is 
different.  When  placed  in  a  drop  of  water,  under  favourable 
circumstances,  the  following  changes  may  be  observed  in  from 
four  to  six  hours.  The  protoplasm,  at  first  uniformly  distributed 
in  all  the  conidia,  appears  strewn  with  semi-lenticular,  and  nearly 
equidistant  vacuoles,  of  which  the  plane  face  is  immediately  in 
contact  with  the  periphery  of  the  protoplasm.  These  vacuoles 
number  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  in  P.  macrocarpa,  but  are  less 
numerous  in  P.  densa.  A  short  time  after  the  appearance  of  the 
vacuoles  the  entire  conidium  extends  itself  so  that  the  papilla 
disappears.  Suddenly  it  reappears,  elongates  itself,  its  attenu- 
ated membrane  vanishes,  and  the  protoplasm  is  expelled  by 


154  FUNGI. 

the  narrow  opening  that  remains  in  place  of  the  papilla.  In 
normal  cases  the  protoplasm  remains  nnited  in  a  single  mass  that 
shows  a  clear  but  very  delicate  outline.  When  it  has  reached 
the  front  of  the  opening  in  the  conidium,  which  is  thus  emptied, 
the  mass  remains  immovable.  In  P.  densa  it  is  at  first  of  a  very 
irregular  form,  but  assumes  by  degrees  a  regular  globose  shape. 
This  is  deprived  of  a  distinct  membrane,  the  vacuoles  that  disap- 
peared in  the  expulsion  again  become  visible,  but  soon  disappear 
for  a  second  time.  The  globule  becomes  surrounded  with  a 
membrane  of  cellulose,  and  soon  pats  out  from  the  point  oppo- 
site to  the  opening  of  the  conidium  a  thick  tube  which  grows  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  germ- tube  of  the  conidia  in  other 
species.  Sometimes  the  expulsion  of  the  protoplasm  is  not  com- 
pletely accomplished  ;  a  portion  of  it  remaining  in  the  membrane 
of  the  conidium  detaches  itself  from  the  expelled  portion,  and 
while  this  is  undergoing  changes  takes  the  form  of  a  vesicle, 
which  is  destroyed  with  the  membrane.  It  is  very  rare  that  the 
protoplasm  is  not  evacuated,  and  that  the  conidia  give  out  ter- 
minal or  lateral  tubes  in  the  manner  that  is  normal  to  other 
species  without  papillae.  The  germination  just  described  does 
not  take  place  unless  the  conidia  are  entirely  surrounded  by  water ; 
it  is  not  sufficient  that  they  repose  upon  its  surface.  Besides, 
there  is  another  condition  which,  without  being  indispensable, 
has  a  sensible  influence  on  the  germination  of  P.  macrocarpa,  and 
that  is  the  exclusion  of  light.  To  ascertain  if  the  light  or  the 
darkness  had  any  influence,  two  equal  sowings  were  placed  side 
by  side,  the  one  under  a  clear  glass  bell,  the  other  under  a 
blackened  glass  bell.  Repeated  many  times,  these  experiments 
always  gave  the  same  result — germination  in  from  four  to  six 
hours  in  the  conidia  under  the  blackened  glass  ;  no  change  in 
those  under  the  clear  glass  up  to  the  evening.  In  the  morning 
germination  was  completed. 

The   conidia   of  P.  umbelliferarum  and  P.   infestans*    show 

an  analogous  structure.     These  bodies,  if  their  development  be 

normal,  become  zoosporangia.    When  they  are  sown  upon  water, 

one  sees  at  the  end  of  some  hours  the  protoplasm  divided  by 

*  This  is  the  mould  which  produces  the  potato  murrain. 


GERMINATION  AND  GROWTH.  155 

very  fine  lines,  and  each  of  the  parts  furnished  with  a  small 
central  vacuole.  Then  the  papilla  of  the  conidium  disappears. 
In  its  place  appears  a  rounded  opening,  by  which  the  parts  of 
the  protoplasm  are  expelled  rapidly,  one  after  the  other.  Each 
of  these,  when  free,  immediately  takes  the  form  of  a  perfect 
zoospore,  and  commences  to  agitate  itself.  In  a  few  moments 
the  sporangium  is  empty  and  the  spores  disappear  from  the  field 
of  the  microscope. 

The  zoospores  are  oval  or  semi-oval,  and  in  P.  infestans  the 
two  cilia  spring  from  the  same  point  on  the  inferior  border  of 
the  vacuole.  Their  number  in  a  sporangium  are  from  six  to  six- 
teen in  P.  infestans,  and  from  six  to  fourteen  in  P.  iimbeUife- 
rarum.  The  movement  of  the  zoospores  ceases  at  the  end  of 
from  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes.  They  become  motionless,  cover 
themselves  with  a  membrane  of  cellulose,  and  push  out  slender 
bent  germ-tubes  which  are  rarely  branched.  It  is  but  seldom 
that  two  tubes  proceed  from  the  same  spore.  The  same  de- 
velopment of  the  zoospores  in  P.  infestans  is  favoured  by  the 
exclusion  of  the  light.  Placed  in  a  position  moderately  lighted 
or  protected  by  a  blackened  bell,  the  conidia  very  readily  pro- 
duced zoospores. 

A  second  form  of  germination  of  the  conidia  in  P.  infestans, 
when  sown  upon  a  humid  body  or  on  the  surface  of  a  drop  of 
water,  consists  in  the  conidium  emitting  from  its  summit  a 
simple  tube,  the  extremity  of  which  swells  itself  into  the  form 
of  an  oval  vesicle,  drawing  to  itself,  little  by  little,  all  the  pro- 
toplasm contained  in  the  conidium.  Then  it  isolates  itself  from 
the  germ-tube  by  a  septum,  and  takes  all  the  essential  character- 
istics of  the  parent  conidium.  This  secondary  conidium  can 
sometimes  engender  a  third  cellule  by  a  similar  process.  These 
secondary  and  tertiary  productions  have  equally  the  character  of 
sporangia.  When  they  are  plunged  into  water,  the  ordinary  pro- 
duction of  zoospores  takes  place. 

Lastly,  there  is  a  third  mode  of  germination  which  the  conidia 
of  P.  infestans  manifest,  and  which  consists  in  the  conidium 
emitting  from  its  summit  a  simple  or  branched  germ-tube.  This 
grows  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  conidia  first  named  as  of  such 


156  FUNGI. 

species  as  P.  effusa.  The  conditions  which  control  this  form 
of  germination  cannot  be  indicated,  since  some  conidia  which 
germinate  after  this  manner  will  sometimes  be  found  mixed 
with  others,  the  majority  of  which  furnish  zoospores.  It  may 
be  that  the  conidia  themselves  are  in  some  sort  of  abnormal 
condition. 

In  all  the  species  examined  the  conidia  possess  the  power  of 
germination  from  the  moment  of  their  maturity.  The  younger 
they  are  the  more  freely  they  germinate.  They  can  retain  this 
power  for  some  days  or  weeks,  provided  they  are  not  entirely 
dried.  Dessication  in  an  ordinary  temperature  seemed  sufficient 
to  destroy  the  faculty  of  germinating  in  twenty- four  hours,  when 
the  conidia  had  been  removed  from  the  leaves  on  which  they 
were  produced.  They  none  of  them  retained  the  faculty  during 
a  few  months,  hence  they  cannot  preserve  it  during  the  winter. 

The  germs  of  Peronospora  enter  the  foster  plant  if  the  spores 
are  sown  upon  a  part  suitable  for  the  development  of  the 
parasite.  It  is  easy  to  convince  one's  self  that  the  mycelium, 
springing  from  the  penetrating  germs,  soon  takes  all  the 
characters  that  are  found  in  the  adult  state.  Besides,  when 
cultivated  for  some  time,  conidiiphorous  branches  can  be  seen 
growing,  identical  with  those  to  which  it  owes  its  origin.  Such 
cultivation  is  so  readily  accomplished  that  it  can  be  made  upon 
cut  leaves  preserved  fresh  in  a  moist  atmosphere. 

In  the  species  of  Peronospora  that  inhabit  perennial  plants,  or 
annual  plants  that  last  through  the  winter,  the  mycelium  hidden 
in  the  tissues  of  the  foster-plant  lasts  with  it.  In  the  spring  it 
recommences  vegetation,  and  emits  its  branches  into  the  newly- 
formed  organs  of  its  host,  there  to  fructify.  The  Peronospora 
of  the  potato  is  thus  perennial  by  means  of  its  mycelium  con- 
tained in  the  browned  tissue  of  the  diseased  tubers.  When  in 
the  spring  a  diseased  potato  begins  to  grow,  the  mycelium  rises 
in  the  stalk,  and  soon  betrays  itself  by  blackish  spots.  The 
parasites  can  fructify  abundantly  on  these  little  stalks,  and  in 
consequence  propagate  themselves  in  the  new  season  by  the 
conidia  coming  from  the  vivacious  mycelium. 

The  diseased  tubers  of  the  potato  always  contain  the  myce- 


GERMINATION    AND   GROWTH.  157 

Hum  of  P.  infest 'ans,  which  never  fructifies  there  as  long  as  the 
skin  of  the  tuber  is  intact.  But  when,  in  cutting  the  tuber,  the 
parenchyma  occupied  by  the  mycelium  is  exposed  to  the  contact 
of  the  air,  it  covers  itself  with  conidia-bearing  branches  at  the 
end  of  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours.  Analogous  results 
are  obtained  with  the  stalks  of  the  potato.  It  is  evident  that 
in  these  experiments  nothing  is  changed  except  the  contact  of 
the  air;  the  specific  conditions  particularly  remain  the  same. 
It  appears,  therefore,  that  it  is  this  contact  alone  which  deter- 
mines generally  the  production  of  the  conidiiferous  branches.* 

The  mode  of  germination  and  development  in  the  Mucors  has 
been  studied  by  several  observers,  but  most  recently  by  Van 
Tieghem  and  Le  Monnier.f  In  one  of  the  common  forms,  the 
Mucor  pTiycomyces  of  some  authors,  and  the  Phycomyces  nitens 
of  others,  the  process  is  given  in  detail.  In  this  species  germi- 
nation will  not  take  place  in  ordinary  water,  but  it  readily  takes 
place  in  orange  juice  and  other  media.  The  spore  loses  colour, 
swells,  and  absorbs  fluid  around  it  until  double  its  original  size 
and  ovoid.  Then  a  thick  thread  is  emitted  from  one  or  both 
extremities,  which  elongates  and  becomes  branched  in  a  pinnate 
manner.  Sometimes  the  exospore  is  ruptured  and  detached 
loosely  from  the  germinating  spore.  After  about  forty-eight 
hours  from  the  first  sowing,  the  mycelium  will  send  branches 
into  the  air,  which  again  become  abundantly  branched ;  other 
short  submerged  branches  will  also  remain  simple,  or  have  tuft- 
like  ramifications,  each  terminating  in  a  point,  so  as  to  bristle 
with  spiny  hairs.  In  two  or  three  days  abruptly  swollen 
branches,  of  a  club  shape,  will  make  their  appearance  on  the 
threads  both  in  the  air  and  in  the  fluid.  Sometimes  these 
branches  are  prolonged  into  an  equal  number  of  sporangia- 
bearing  threads,  but  most  frequently  they  divide  first  at  their 
swollen  summits  into  numerous  branches,  of  which  usually  one, 

*  De  Bary,  "Champignons  parasitiques, "  in  "  Annales  des  Sci.  Nat."  (4me 
eer.),  xx,  p.  5  ;  Cooke,  ''Microscopic  Fungi,"  cap.  xi.  p.  138  ;  "  Popular  Science 
Review,"  iii.  193  (1864). 

t  Van  Tieghem  and  Le  Monnier,  "Researches   on  Mucorini,"in  "Ann.  des 
Sci.  Nat."  (1S73),  xvii.  p.  261  ;  Summary  in  "Quart.  Journ.    Micro.  Science" 
(2nd  ser.),  xiv.  p.  4f). 
8 


158  FUNGI. 

sometimes  two  or  three,  develop  into  sporangia-bearing  threads, 
while  the  rest  are  short,  pointed,  and  form  a  tuft  of  rootlets. 
Sometimes  these  rootlets  reduce  themselves  to  one  or  more 
rounded  protuberances  towards  the  base  of  the  sporangia-bear- 
ing threads. 

There  are  often  also  a  certain  number  of  the  branches 
which  had  acquired  a  clavate  shape,  and  do  not  erect 
themselves  above  the  surface,  instead  of  producing  a  fertile 
thread,  which  would  seem  to  have  been  their  first  intention, 
become  abruptly  attenuated,  and  are  merely  prolonged  into  a 
mycelial  filament.  Although  in  other  species  chlamydospores 
are  formed  in  such  places  on  the  mycelium,  nothing  of  the  kind 
has  been  traced  in  this  species,  more  than  here  indicated.  Occa- 
sionally, when  germination  is  arrested  prematurely,  certain 
portions  of  the  hypha3,  in  which  the  protoplasm  maintains  its 
vitality,  become  partitioned  off.  This  may  be  interpreted  -as  a 
tendency  towards  the  formation  of  chlamydospores,  but  there  is 
no  condensation  of  protoplasm,  or  investiture  with  a  special 
membrane.  Later  on  this  isolated  protoplasm  is  gradually 
altered,  separating  into  somewhat  regular  ovoid  or  fusiform 


FIG.  93.— Zygospores  of  Mucor  phycomyces.    (Van  Tieghem.) 

granules,  which  have,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  appearance  of  spores 
in  an  ascus,  but  they  seem  to  be  incapable  of  germination. 


GERMINATION   AND    GROWTH.  159 

Another  method  of  reproduction,  not  uncommon  in  JMucorini, 
is  described  by  Van  Tieghem  in  this  species.  Conjugating 
threads  on  the  substratum  by  degrees  elaborate  zygospores,  but 
these,  contrary  to  the  mode  in  other  species,  are  surrounded  by 
curious  branched  processes  which  emanate  from  the  arcuate  cells 
on  either  side  of  the  newly- developed  zygospore.  This  system 
of  reproduction  is  again  noticed  more  in  detail  in  the  chapter 
on  polymorphism. 

M.  de  Seynes  has  given  the  details  of  his  examination  of  the 
sporidia  of  Morcliella  esculenta  during  germination.*  A  number 
of  these  sporidia,  placed  in  water  in  the  morning,  presented,  at 
nine  o'clock  of  the  same  evening,  a  sprout  from  one  of  the 
extremities,  measuring  half  the  length  of  the  spore.  In  the 
morning  of  the  next  day  this  sprout  had  augmented,  and 
become  a  filament  three  or  four  times  as  long.  The  next  day 
these  elongated  filaments  exhibited  some  transverse  divisions 
and  some  ramifications.  On  the  third  day,  the  germination 
being  more  advanced,  many  more  of  the  sporidia  were  as  com- 
pletely changed,  and  presented,  in  consequence  of  the  elongation, 
the  appearance  of  a  cylindrical  ruffle,  the  cellular  prolongations 
arising  from  the  germination  having  a  tendency  towards  one  of 
the  extremities  of  the  longer  axis  of  the  sporidium,  and  more 
often  to  the  two  opposed  extremities,  either  simultaneously  or 
successively.  Out  of  many  hundreds  of  sporidia  examined 
during  germination,  he  had  only  seen  a  very  few  exceptions  to 
this  rule,  among  which  he  had  encountered  the  centrifugal 
tendency  to  vegetate  by  two  opposed  filaments,  proving  that  if 
it  bears  a  second  by  the  side  of  the  primal  filament  situated  at 
one  of  the  poles,  a  second  would  also  be  seen  from  the  side  of 
the  filament  coming  from  the  opposite  pole. 

Before  being  submitted  to  the  action  of  water,  the  contents 
of  the  sporidia  seemed  formed  of  two  distinct  parts,  one  big 
drop  of  yellow  oil  of  the  same  form  as  the  sporidium,  with 
the  space  between  it  and  the  cell  wall  occupied  by  a  clear  liquid, 
more  fluid  and  less  refractive,  nearly  colourless,  or  at  times 
slightly  roseate.  As  '  the  membrane  absorbed  the  water  by 

*  Seynes,  "Essai  d'une  Flore  Mycologique.'1 


160  FUNGI. 

which  it  was  surrounded,  the  quantity  of  this  clear  liquid  was 
augmented,  and  the  rosy  tint  could  be  more  easily  distinguished. 
All  the  contents  of  the  spore,  which  up  to  this  time  remained 
divided  into  two  parts,  presented  altogether  one  aspect,  only  con- 
taining numerous  granulations,  nearly  of  equal  size,  completely 
filling  it,  and  reaching  the  inner  face  of  the  sporic  membrane. 

After  this  time  the  sporidium  augments  in  size  very  rapidly, 
becoming  at  times  irregular,  and  sometimes  even  as  much  as 
from  two  to  three  times  its  original  dimensions,  then  there 
appears  at  the  surface,  usually  at  one  of  the  poles  of  the  ellipse, 
a  small  prominence,  with  an  extremely  fine  membrane,  which 
does  not  appear  to  separate  itself  from  that  which  surrounds  the 
sporidium,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  it  is  a  prolongation 
of  the  internal  membrane  going  across  the  outside,  or  simply  a 
prolongation  caused  by  a  continuation  of  tissue  of  an  unique 
membrane.  Sometimes  there  may  be  seen  at  the  point  where 
the  primal  filament  issues  from  the  sporidium  a  circular  mark, 
which  appears  to  indicate  the  rupture  of  the  external  membrane. 
From  this  time  another  change  comes  over  the  contents.  We 
again  find  the  yellow  oily  liquid,  now  occupying  the  external 
position,  with  some  drops  of  colourless  or  roseate  liquid  in  the 
centre,  so  that  the  oily  liquid  and  the  more  limpid  fluid 
interchange  the  positions  which  they  occupied  previous  to 
the  commencement  of  germination.  Whether  these  two  fluids 
have  undergone  any  change  in  their  constitution  is  difficult  to 
determine,  at  all  events  the  oily  liquid  appears  to  be  less  refrac- 
tive and  more  granular,  and  it  may  be  that  it  is  a  product  of 
new  formation,  containing  some  of  the  elements  of  the  primitive 
oily  drop.  Having  regard  to  the  delicate  character  of  the  mem- 
brane of  the  germinating  filaments,  De  Seynes  supposed  that  it 
might  offer  greater  facility  for  the  entrance  of  water  by  endos- 
mose,  and  account  for  the  rapid  enlargement  of  the  sporidia.  By 
a  series  of  experiments  he  became  satisfied  that  this  was  the 
case  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  he  adds : — "  I  cannot  help 
supposing  that  a  greater  absorption  of  greasy  matter  in  the  cell 
which  is  the  first  product-  of  germination  raises  an  objection  to 
an  aqueous  endosmose.  One  can  also  see  in  this  experience  a 


GERMINATION  AND  GROWTH.  161 

proof  of  the  existence  of  two  special  membranes,  and  so  suppose 
that   the    germinative  cell  is  the  continuation   of  the  internal 
membrane,  the  external  membrane  alone  being  susceptible  of 
absorbing  the  liquids,  at  least  with  a  certain  rapidity." 
.     In  other  Discomycetes  germination  takes  place  in   a  similar 
manner.     Boudier*  narrates  that  in  Ascobolus,  when  once  the 
spore  reaches  a  favourable  place,  if  the  circumstances  are  good, 
i.e.,  if  the  temperature  is   sufficiently  high  and  the  moisture 
sufficient,  it  will  germinate.     The  time  necessary  for  this  pur- 
pose  is  variable,  some  hours  sufficing  for  some 
species ;  those  of  A.  viridis,  for  example,  germi- 
nate in  eight  or   ten  hours,   doubtless  because, 
being  terrestrial,  it  has  in  consequence  less  heat. 
The  spore  slightly  augments  .in  size,  then  opens, 
generally  at  one  or  other  extremity,  sometimes  at 
two,  or  at  any  point  on  its   surface,  in  order  to 
pass  the  mycelium  tubes.     At  first  simple,  with- 
out   septa,  and    granular  in  the  interior,    above 
all  at  the  extremity,  these  tubes,  the  rudiment  of 
the  mycelium,    are   not   long    in    elongating,  in 
branching,  and  later  in  having  partitions.     These 
filaments   are  always  colourless,  only  the  spore 
may  be  coloured,  or  not.     Coemans  has  described 
them  as  giving  rise  to  two  kinds  of  conidia,f  the    FIG.  94.  —  Spori- 
one  having  the  form  of  Torula,  when  they  give 
rise  to  continuous  filaments,  the  other  in  the  form 
of  Penicillium,  when   they  give  birth  to  partitioned  filaments. 
De  Seynes  could  never  obtain  this  result.  Many  times  he  had  seen 
the  Penicillium  glaucum  invade  his  sowings,  but  he  feels  confident 
that  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  the   Ascobolus.     M.  WoroninJ 
has  detailed  some  observations  on  the  sexual  phenomena  which 
he  has  observed  in  Ascobolus  and  Peziza,  and  so  far  as  the  scole- 
cite  is  concerned  these  have  been  confirmed  by  M.  Boudier. 

*  Boudier,  "Memoire  sur  1'Ascoboles,"  pt.  i.  iv.  f,  13-15. 
t  Coemans,  "  Spicilege  Mycologique,"  i.  p.  6. 

£  Woronin,  "  Abhandlungen  cler  Senchenbergischen  Naturfor.   Gesellscbaft " 
(1865),  p.  333. 


162  FUNGI. 

There  is  no  reason  for  doubt  that  in  other  of  the  Discomycetcs 
the  germination  of  the  sporidia  is  very  similar  to  that  already 
seen  and  described,  whilst  in  the  Pyrenomycetes,  as  far  as  we  are 
aware,  although  the  production  of  germinating  tubes  is  by  no 
means  difficult,  development  has  not  been  traced  beyond  this 
stage.* 

*  In  the  very  important  observations  made  by  Dr.  Cunningham  at  Calcutta,  on 
substances  floating  in  the  atmosphere,  it  appeared  that  the  sporidia  of  many 
Sphcerice  actually  germinated  after  being  taken  up  by  the  air.  The  multitude 
of  fungus  spores  which  were  observed  in  every  case  was  quite  extraordinary. 


10  JSllIOgC-iU 


vnr. 

SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION. 

THE  existence  of  some  sort  of  sexual  reproduction  in  Fungi  has 
long  been  suspected,  although  in  earlier  instances  upon  insuf- 
ficient grounds ;  but  of  late  years  observations  have  multiplied 
and  facts  accumulated  which  leave  no  doubt  of  its  existence.  If 
the  Saprolegnice  are  left  out  of  the  question  as  disputed  Fungi, 
there  still  remain  a  number  of  well  authenticated  instances  of 
the  phenomena  of  copulation,  and  many  other  facts  which 
indicate  some  sort  of  sexual  relationship.  The  precise  manner 
in  which  those  minute  bodies,  so  common  amongst  the 
Sphceronemei,  which  we  prefer  to  call  stylospores,  perform 
their  functions  is  still  to  a  great  extent  a  mystery ;  yet  it  is 
no  longer  doubted  that  certain  species  of  Apospfusria,  Phoma, 
Septoria,  &c.,  are  only  conditions  of  some  species  of  Sphceria, 
often  developed  and  matured  in  close  proximity  to  them  on  the 
same  host.  In  ^Ecidium,  Rcestelia,  &c.,  spermogonia  are  produced 
plentifully  on  or  near  the  same  spots  on  which  the  fructification 
appears,  either  simultaneously  or  at  a  later  period.*  The  rela- 
tion of  Cytispora  to  Valsa  was  suspected  by  Fries  very  many 
years  ago,  and,  as  since  demonstrated,  with  very  good  reason. 
All  attempts,  however,  to  establish  anything  like  sexual  repro- 
duction in  the  higher  forms  of  Hymenomycetes  have  at  present 
been  unsuccessful ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Qasteromy- 
cetes ;  but  in  Ascomycetes  and  Physomycetes  instances  abound. 
We  know  not  whether  any  importance  is  to  be  attached  to  the 

*  M.  Tulasne  has  devoted  a  chapter  to  the  epermogonia  of  the  Uredines  in  his 
memoir,  to  which  we  have  already  alluded. 


164  FUNGI. 

views  of  M.  A.  S.  CErsted,*  which  have  not  since  been  con- 
firmed, but  which  have  been  cited  with  some  approval  by  Pro- 
fessor de  Bary,  as  to  a  trace  of  sexual  organs  in  Hymenomycetes. 
He  is  supposed  to  have  seen  in  Agaricus  variabilis,  P.,  oocysts 
or  elongated  reniform  cells,  which  spring  up  like  rudimentary 
branches  of  the  filaments  of  the  mycelium,  and  enclose  an  abun- 
dant protoplasm,  if  not  even  a  nucleus.  At  the  base  of  these 
oocysts  appear  the  presumed  antheridia,  that  is  to  say,  one  or  two 
slender  filaments,  which  generally  turn  their  extremities  towards 
the  oocysts,  and  which  more  rarely  are  applied  to  them.  Then, 
without  ulteriorily  undergoing  any  appreciable  modifications,  the 
fertile  cell  or  oocyst  becomes  enveloped  in  a  network  of  fila- 
ments of  mycelium  which  proceed  from  the  one  which  bears  it, 
and  this  tissue  forms  the  rudiments  of  the  cap.  The  reality  of 
some  kind  of  fecundation  in  this  circumstance,  and  the  mode  of 
the  phenomena,  if  there  is  one,  are  for  the  present  equally  un- 
certain. If  M.  (Ersted's  opinion  is  confirmed,  naturally  the 
whole  of  the  cap  will  be  the  product  of  fecundation.  Probably 
Karsten  (Bonplandia,  1862,  p.  62)  saw  something  similar  in 
Agaricus  campestris,  but  his  account  is  obscure. 

In  Phycomyces  the  organs  of  reproduction  have  been  subjected 
to  close  examination  by  Yan  Tieghem,t  and  although  he  failed 
to  discover  chlamydospores  in  this,  he  describes  them  in  other 
Mucors.  In  this  species,  besides  the  regular  sexual  develop- 
ment, by  means  of  sporangia,  there  is  a  so-called  sexual  repro- 
duction by  means  of  zygospores,  which  takes  place  in  this  wise. 
The  threads  which  conjugate  to  form  the  zygospores  are  slender 
and  erect  on  the  surface  of  the  substratum.  Two  of  these 
threads  come  into  close  contact  through  a  considerable  length, 
and  clasp  each  other  by  alternate  protuberances  and  depressions. 
Some  of  the  protuberances  are  prolonged  into  slender  tubes.  At 
the  same  time  the  free  extremities  of  the  threads  dilate,  and  arch 

*  (Eersted,  in  "Verhandl  derKonig.  Dan.  Gesell.  DerWissensch,"lst  January, 
1865;  DeBary,  "  Handbuch  der  Physiol.  Botanik"  (1866),  p.  172;  "Annales 
des  Sci.  Nat."  (5me  s6r.),  vol.  v.  (1866),  p.  366. 

•f  Van  Tieghemand  LeMonnier,  in  "Annales  des  Sci.  Nat."  (1873),  vol.  xvii. 
p.  261. 


SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION.  165 

over  one  towards  the  other  until  their  tops  touch  like  a  vice, 
each  limb  of  which  rapidly  increases  in  size.  Each  of  these 
arcuate,  clavate  cells  has  now  a  portion  of  its  extremity  isolated 
by  a  partition,  by  means  of  which  a  new  hemispherical  cell  is 
formed  at  the  end  of  each  thread  at  its  point  of  junction  with 
the  opposed  thread.  These  cells  become  afterwards  cylindrical 
by  pressure,  the  protoplasm  is  aggregated  into  amass,  the  double 
membrane  at  the  point  of  first  contact  is  absorbed,  and  the  two 
confluent  masses  of  protoplasm  form  a  zygospore  invested  with 
a  tubercular  coat  and  enveloped  by  the  primary  wall  of  the  two 


Fio.  95.— Zygospore  of  Mucor  phycomyces. 

conjugating  cells.  During  this  formation  of  the  zygospore,  the 
two  arched  cells  whence  the  zygospore  originated  develop  a 
series  of  dichotomous  processes  in  close  proximity  to  the  walls 
which  separate  them  from  the  zygospore.  These  processes 
appear  at  first  on  one  of  the  arcuate  cells  in  successive  order. 
The  first  makes  its  appearance  above  upon  the  convex  side  ;  the 
succeeding  ones  to  the  right  and  left  in  descending  order ;  the 
last  is  in  the  concavity  beneath.  It  is  only  after  the  development 
of  this  that  .the  first  process  appears  on  the  opposite  cell,  which  is 
followed  by  others  in  the  same  order.  These  dichotomous  pro- 
cesses are  nothing  more  than  branches  developed  from  the  arcuate, 
or  mother  cells.  During  all  these  changes,  while  the  zygospore 


166  FUNGI. 

enlarges,  the  wall  of  the  arcuate  cells  becomes  coloured  brown. 
This  colouring  is  more  marked  on  the  convex  side,  and  it  shows 
itself  first  in  the  cell  on  which  the  dichotomous  branches  are 
first  produced,  and  which  retains  the  darker  tint  longer  than  the 
other.  The  zone  from  whence  the  processes  issue,  and  also  the 
processes  themselves,  have  their  walls  blackened  deeply,  while 
the  walls  of  the  conjugated  cells,  which  continue  to  clothe  the 
zygospore  during  the  whole  of  its  development,  are  bluish-black. 
By  pressure,  the  thin  brittle  coat  which  envelopes  the  zygospore 
is  ruptured,  and  the  coat  of  the  zygospore  exposed,  formed  of  a 
thick  cartilaginous  membrane,  studded  with  large  irregular  warts. 

The  germination  of  the  zygospores  in  this  species  has  not  as 
yet  been  observed,  but  it  is  probably  the  same  or  very  similar  to 
that  observed  in  other  species  of  Mucor.  In  these  the  rough 
tuberculate  epispore  splits  on  one  side,  and  its  internal  coat 
elongates  itself  and  protrudes  as  a  tube  filled  with  protoplasm 
and  oil  globules,  terminating  in  an  ordinary  sporangium. 
Usually  the  amount  of  nutriment  contained  in  the  zygospore 
is  exhausted  by  the  formation  of  the  terminal  sporangium,  ac- 
cording to  Brefeld  ;  *  but  Van  Tieghem  and  Le  Monnier  remark 
that  in  their  examinations  they  have  often  seen  a  partition 
formed  at  about  a  third  of  the  length  of  the  principal  filament 
from  the  base,  below  which  a  strong  branch  is  given  off,  and- 
this  is  also  terminated  by  a  large  sporangium. 

De  Bary  has  given  a  precise  account  of  the  formation  of  the 
zygospore  in  another  of  the  Mucors,  JRkizopus  nigricans,  in  which 
he  says  that  the  filaments  which  conjugate  are  solid  rampant 
tubes,  which  are  branched  without  order  and  confusedly  inter- 
mingled. Where  two  of  these  filaments  meet  each  of  them 
pushes  towards  the  other  an  appendage  which  is  at  first  cylin- 
drical and  of  the  same  diameter.  From  the  first  these  two 
processes  are  applied  firmly  one  to  the  other  by  their  extremities ; 
they  increase  in  size,  become  clavate,  and  constitute  together 
a  fusiform  body  placed  across  the  two  conjugated  filaments. 
Between  the  two  halves  of  this  body  there  exists  no  constant 
difference  of  size  ;  often  they  are  both  perfectly  equal.  In  each 
*  Brefeld,  "Bot.  Unt.  uber  Schimmelpilze, "  p.  31. 


SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION.  167 

there  is  collected  an  abundance  of  protoplasm,  and  when  they 
have  attained  a  certain  development  the  largest  extremity  of 
each  is  isolated  by  a  septum  from  the  clavule,  which  thus  becomes 
the  support  or  suspender  of  the  copulative  cell.  The  two  conju- 


Jkss 


FIG.  93. — Zygospore  of  Rhizopus  in  differeut  stages.    (De  Bary.) 


gated  cells  of  the  fusiform  body  are  generally  unequal ;  the  one 
is  a  cylinder  as  long  as  it  is  broad,  the  other  is  disciform,  and 
its  length  is  only  equal  to  half  its  breadth.  The  primitive  mem- 
brane of  the  clavule  forms  between  the  copulative  cells  a  solid 
partition  of  two  membranes,  but  soon  after  the  cells  have  become 
defined  the  medial  partition  becomes  pierced  in  the  centre,  and 
then  soon  entirely  disappears,  so  that  the  two  twin  cells  are 
confounded  in  one  single  zygospore,  which  is  due  to  the  union 
of  two  more  or  less  similar  utricles.  After  its  formation  the 
zygospore  still  increases  considerably  in  size,  and  acquires  a 
diameter  of  more  than  one-fifth  of  a  millimetre.  Its  form  is 
generally  spherical,  and  flattened  on  the  faces  which  are  united 
to  the  suspenders,  or  it  resembles  a  slightly  elongated  cask. 
The  membrane  thickens  considerably,  and  consists  at  the  time 
of  maturity  of  two  superposed  integuments  ;  the  exterior  or 
epispore  is  solid,  of  a  dark  blackish-blue  colour,  smooth  on  the 
plane  faces  in  contact  with  the  suspenders,  but  covered  every- 
where else  with  thick  warts,  which  are  hollow  beneath.  The 
endospore  is  thick  and  composed  of  several  layers,  colourless, 
and  covered  with  warts,  which  correspond  and  fit  into  those  of 
the  epispore.  The  contents  of  the  zygospore  are  a  coarsely 


168  FUNGI. 

granular  protoplasm,  in  which  float  large  oleaginous  drops. 
While  the  zygospore  is  increasing  in  size,  the  suspender  of  the 
smaller  copulative  cell  becomes  a  rounded  and  stipitate  utricle, 
often  divided  at  the  base  by  a  septum,  and  which  attains  almost 
to  the  size  of  the  zygospore.  The  suspender  of  the  larger  copu- 
lative cell  preserves  its  primitive  form  and  becomes  scarcely  any 
larger.,.  It  is  rare  that  there  is  not  a  considerable  difference  of 
size  between  the  two  conjugated  cells  and  the  suspenders.* 

Similar  conjugation  with  like  results  also  takes  place  in 
Syzygites  megalocarpus.  In  this  species  the  germination  of  the 
zygospores  has  been  observed.  If,  after  a  certain  time  of  repose, 
these  bodies  are  placed  on  a  moist  substratum,  they  emit  a 
germ-like  tube,  which,  without  originating  a  proper  mycelium, 
develops  at  the  expense  of  the  nutritive  material  stored  in  the 
zygospore  into  a  carpophore  or  fruit  bearer,  which  is  many  times 
dichotomously  branched,  bearing  terminal  sporangia  character- 
istic of  the  species. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  by  us  that  the  Saprolcgnei  are 
claimed  by  some  authors  as  Algse,  whilst  we  are  more  disposed 
to  regard  them  as  closely  allied  to  the  Mucors,  and  as  they 
exhibit  in  themselves  strong  evidence  in  support  of  the  existence 
of  sexual  reproduction,  we  cannot  forbear  giving  a  summary  of 
what  has  been  observed  by  De  Bary  and  others  in  this  very 
interesting  and  singular  group  of  plants,  to  which  M.  Cornu  has 
recently  dedicated  an  exhaustive  monograph. t 

In  Saprolegnia  monoica,  and  others,  the  female  organs  consist 
of  oogonia — that  is  to  say,  of  cells  which  are  at  first  globose  and 
rich  in  plastic  matter,  which  most  generally  terminate  short 
branches  of  the  mycelium,  and  which  are  rarely  seen  in  an 
interstitial  position.  The  constitutive  membrane  of  the  adult 
oogonia  is  reabsorbed  in  a  great  many  points,  and  is  there 
pierced  with  rounded  holes.  At  the  same  time  the  plasma  is 
divided  into  a  larger  or  smaller  number  of  distinct  portions, 
which  are  rounded  into  little  spheres,  and  separate  from  the 

*  De  Bary,    "Morphologic  und  Physiologie  der  Pilze,"  cap.  5,    p.    160; 
"Ann.  des.  Sci.  Nat."  (1866),  p.  343. 
t  Cornu,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (5me  ser.),  vol.  xv.  p.  1  (1872). 


SEXUAL   EEPEODUCTION. 


169 


walls  of  the  conceptacle  in  order  to  group  themselves  at  the 
centre,  where  they  float  in  a  watery  fluid.  These  gonospheres 
are  then  smooth  and  bare,  with  no  membrane  on  their  surface 
of  the  nature  of  cellulose. 

During  the  formation  of  the  oogonia  there  arise  from  its 
pedicel  or  from  neighbouring  filaments  slight  cylindrical  curved 
branches,  sometimes  turned  round  the  support  of  the  oogonia, 
and  which  all  tend  towards  this  organ.  Their  superior  extremity 
is  intimately  applied  to  its  wall,  then  ceases  to  be  elongated, 
becomes  slightly  inflated,  and  is  limited  below  by  a  partition ; 
it  is  then  an  oblong  cell,  slightly 
curved,  filled  with  protoplasm,  and 
intimately  applied  to  the  oogonia — 
in  fact,  an  antheridium  or  organ  of 
the  male  sex.  Each  oogonium  pos- 
sesses one  or  several  antheridia. 
Towards  the  time  when  the  gono- 
spheres are  formed  it  may  be  ob- 
served that  each  antheridium  sends 
to  the  interior  of  the  oogonia  one 
or  several  tubular  processes,  which 
have  crossed  its  side  wall,  and  which 
open  at  their  extremity  in  order  to 
discharge  their  contents.  These, 
while  they  are  flowing  out,  present  some  very  agile  corpuscles, 
and  which,  considering  their  resemblance  to  those  in  Vauclieria, 
to  which  the  name  of  spermatozoids  are  applied,  ought  to  be 
considered  as  the  fecundating  corpuscles.  After  the  evacuation 
of  the  antheridia  the  gonospheres  are  found  to  be  covered  with 
cellulose  ;  they  then  constitute  so  many  oospores,  with  solid 
walls.  De  Bary  considers  that,  bearing  in  mind  analogous 
phenomena  observed  in  Vaucheria,  and  the  direct  observations 
of  Pringsheim,*  the  cellulose  membrane  on  the  surface  of  the 
gonospheres  is  only  the  consequence  of  a  sexual  fecundation. 

In  Acldya  dioica  the  antheridium  is  cylindrical,  the  plasma 
which  it  encloses  is  divided  into  particles,  which  attain  nearly 
*  Pringsheim's  "  Jahrbucher,"  vcL  ii.  p.  160. 


FIG. 


97.  —"Conjugation    in   Achlya 
(Cornu.) 


170  FUNGI. 

the  size  of  the  zoospores  of  the  same  plant.  These  particles 
become  globose  cells,  grouped  in  the  centre  of  the  antheridium. 
Afterwards  the  contents  of  these  latter  cells  become  divided 
into  numerous  bacillary  spermatozoids,  which  first  break  the 
wall  of  their  mother  cell,  and  then  issue  from  the  antheridium. 
These  rod-like  corpuscles,  which  resemble  the  spermatozoids  in 
Vaucheria,  have  their  movements  assisted  by  a  long  cilium.  It 
is  presumable  that  here,  as  in  the  Algse,  the  spermatozoids 
introduce  themselves  into  the  cavity  of  the  oogonium,  and  unite 
with  the  gonospheres. 

Amongst  obscure  and  doubtful  bodies  are  those  described 
by  Pringsheim,  which  have  their  origin  in  thick  filaments  or 
tubes,  similar  to  those  which  form  the  zoosporangia,  and  re- 
present so  many  distinct  little  masses  of  plasma  within  an 
homogeneous  parietal  ganglion.  The  contour  of  these  plastic 
masses  is  soon  delineated  in  a  more  precise  manner.  We 
see  in  their  interior  some  homogeneous  granules,  which 
are  at  first  globose,  then  oval,  and  finally  travel  to  the 
enlarged  and  ampulleeform  extremity  of  the  generating  tube. 
There  they  become  rounded  or  oval  cells  covered  with  cellu- 
lose, and  emit  from  their  surface  one  or  several  cylindrical 
processes,  which  elongate  towards  the  wall  of  the  conceptacle, 
and  pierce  it,  without,  however,  ever  projecting  very  far  beyond 
it.  At  the  same  time  the  lacunose  protoplasm  of  each  cell 
becomes  divided  into  a  number  of  corpuscles,  which  escape  by 
the  open  extremity  of  the  cylindrical  neck.  They  resemble  in 
their  organization  and  agility  the  spermatozoids  of  AcJilya  dioica. 
They  soon  become  motionless  in  water,  and  do  not  germinate. 
During  the  development  of  these  organs,  the  protoplasm  of  the 
utricle  which  contains  them  offers  at  first  completely  normal 
characteristics,  and  disappears  entirely  by  degrees  as  they 
increase.  De  Bary  and  Pringsheim  believe  that  these  organs 
constitute  the  antheridia  of  the  species  of  Saprolegnia  to  which 
they  belong. 

The  oospores  of  the  Saprolegnice,  when  arrived  at  maturity, 
possess  a  tolerably  thick  double  integument,  consisting  of  an 
epispore  and  an  endospore.  After  a  considerable  time  of  repose 


SEXUAL    REPRODUCTION.  171 

they  give  rise   to  tubular  or  vesicular  germs,  which,  without 
being  much  elongated,  produce  zoospores.* 

De  Bary  has  claimed  for  the  oogonia  in  Cystopus  and  Perono- 
spora  a  kind  of  fecundation  which  deserves  mention  here.f 
These  same  fruits,  he  says,  which  owe  their  origin  to  sexual 
organs,  should  bear  the  names  of  oogonia  and  antheridia,  ac- 
cording to  the  terminology  proposed  by  Pringsheim  for  analo- 
gous organs  in  the  Algas.  The  formation  of  the  oogonia,  or 
female  organs,  commences  by  the  terminal  or  interstitial  swelling 
of  the  tubes  of  the  mycelium,  which  increase  and  take  the  form 
of  large  spherical  or  oboval  cells,  and  which  separate  themselves 
by  septa  from  the  tube  which  carries  them.  Their  membrane 
encloses  granules  of  opaque  protoplasm,  mingled  with  numerous 
bulky  granules  of  colourless  fatty  matter. 

The  branches  of  the  mycelium  which  do  not  bear  oogonia 
apply  their  obtuse  extremities  against  the  growing  oogonia ; 
this  extremity  swells,  and,  by  a  transverse  partition,  separates 
itself  from  the  supporting  tube.  It  is  the  antheridium,  or  male 
organ,  which  is  formed  by  this  process  ;  it  takes  the  form  of  an 
obliquely  clavate  or  obovate  cellule,  which 
is  always  considerably  smaller  than  the 
oogonium,  and  adheres  to  its  walls  by  a 
plane  or  convex  area.  The  slightly  thickened 
membrane  of  the  antheridia  encloses  proto- 
plasm which  is  finely  granular.  It  is  seldom 
that  more  than  one  antheridium  applies 
itself  to  an  oogonium. 

The  two  organs  having  together  achieved 

FIG.  98.— Conjugation  in 

their  development,  the  large  granules  con-  peronogPora ;  a.  antheri- 
tained  in  the  oogonium  accumulate  at  its  dium-  <De  Bary-) 
centre  to  group  themselves  under  the  form  of  an  irregular 
globule  deprived  of  a  proper  membrane,  and  surrounded  by  a 
bed  of  almost  homogeneous  protoplasm.  This  globule  is  the 
gonosphere,  or  reproductive  sphere,  which,  through  the  means  of 

*  De  Bary,  in  "  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles"  (5me  sen),  vol.  v.  (1866), 
p.  343  ;  Hoffmeister's  "Handbook"  (Fungi),  cap.  v.  p.  155. 

f  De  Bary,  in  "  Annales  des  Sci.  Nat."  (4me  ser.),  vol.  xx.  p.  129. 


172  FUNGI. 

fecundation,  should  become  the  reproductive  body,  vegetable 
egg,  or  oospore.  The  gonosphere  having  been  formed,  the 
antheridium  shoots  out  from  the  centre  of  its  face,  close  against 
the  oogonium,'a  straight  tube,  which  perforates  the  walls  of 
the  female  cell,  and  traversing  the  protoplasm  of  its  periphery, 
directs  itself  to  the  gonosphere.  It  ceases  to  elongate  itself 
as  soon  as  it  touches  it,  and  the  gonosphere  becomes  clothed 
with  a  membrane  of  cellulose,  and  takes  a  regular  spheroidal 
form. 

Considering  the  great  resemblance  of  these  organs  with  the 
sexual  organs  of  the  Saprolegnise,  which 
are  closely  allied  to  the  Algae,  and  of 
which  the  sexuality  has  been  proved, 
De  Bary  adds,  we  have  no  doubt  what- 
ever that  the  phenomena  just  described 
represent  an  act  of  fecundation,  and 

no.  99.-Antheridia  and  ^at  the  tube  pushed  out  by  the  anthe- 
oogonium  of  Peronospom.  (De  ridium  should  be  regarded  as  a  fecun- 
Bary^  dating  tube.  It  is  remarkable  that 

amongst  these  fungi  the  tube  projected  by  the  antheridium 
effects  fecundation  only  by  contact.  Its  extremity  never  opens, 
and  we  never  find  antherozoids ;  on  the  contrary,  the  anthe- 
ridium presents,  up  to  the  maturity  of  the  oospore,  the  appear- 
ance which  it  presented  at  the  moment  of  fecundation. 

The  primitive  membrane  of  the  oospore,  at  first  very  thin, 
soon  acquires  a  more  sensible  thickness,  and  becomes  surrounded 
by  an  external  layer  (epospore),  which  is  formed  at  the  expense 
of  the  protoplasm  of  the  periphery.  This  disappears  in  propor- 
tion as  the  epispore  attains  maturity,  and  finally  there  only  re- 
mains a  quantity  of  granules,  suspended  in  a  transparent  watery 
fluid.  At  the  period  of  maturity,  the  epispore  is  a  slightly  thick- 
ened, resistant  membrane,  of  a  yellowish-brown  colour,  and  finely 
punctate.  The  surface  is  almost  always  provided  with  brownish 
warts,  which  are  large  and  obtuse,  sometimes  isolated,  and  some- 
times confluent,  forming  irregular  crests.  These  warts  are  com- 
posed of  cellulose,  which  reagents  colour  of  a  deep  blue,  whilst 
the  membrane  which  bears  them  preserves  its  primitive  colour. 


SEXUAL   KEPRODUCTION.  173 

One  of  the  warts,  larger  than  the  rest,  and  recognizable  by  its 
cylindrical  form,  always  forms  a  kind  of  thick  sheath  around 
the  fecundating  tube.  The  ripe  endospore  is  a  thick,  smooth, 
colourless  membrane,  composed  of  cellulose  containing  a  bed  of 
finely  granulated  protoplasm,  which  surrounds  a  great  central 
vacuole.  This  oospore,  or  resting  spore,  may  remain  dormant 
in  this  state  within  the  tissues  of  the  foster  plant  for  some 
months.  Its  ultimate  development  by  production  of  zoospores 
is  similar  to  the  production  of  zoospores  from  conidia,  which 
it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  here.  The  oospore  becomes  an 
oosporangium,  and  from  it  at  least  a  hundred  germinating 
bodies  are  at  length  expelled. 

Amongst  the  principal  observers  of  certain  phenomena  of  copu- 
lation in  cells  formed  in  the  earliest  stages  of  the  Discomycetes 
are  Professor  de  Bary,*  Dr.  Woronin,  f  and  Messrs.  Tulasne.J 
In  the  Ascololus  pulcJierrimus  of  Crouan,  Woronin  ascertained 
that  the  cup  derives  its  origin  from  a  short  'and  flexible  tube, 
thicker  than  the  other  branches  of  the  mycelium,  and  which  is 
soon  divided  by  transverse  septa  into  a  series  of  cells,  the  succes- 
sive increase  of  which  finally  gives  to  the  whole  a  torulose  and 
unequal  appearance.  The  body  thus  formed  he  calls  a  "  vermi- 
form body."  The  same  observer  also  seems  to  have  convinced 
himself  that  there  exists  always  in  proximity  to  this  body  certain 
filaments,  the  short  arched  or  inflected  branches  of  which,  like 
so  many  antheridia,  rest  their  anterior  extremities  on  the  utri- 
form  cells.  This  contact  seems  to  communicate  to  the  vermiform 
body  a  special  vital  energy,  which  is  immediately  directed  towards 
the  production  of  a  somewhat  filamentous  tissue,  on  which  the 
hymenium  is  at  a  later  period  developed.  This  "vermiform 
body"  of  M.  Woronin  has  since  come  to  be  recognized  under 
the  name  of  "  scolecite." 

Tulasne  observes  that  this  "  scolecite  "  or  ringed  body  can  be 
readily  isolated  in  Ascololus  furfuraceus.  When  the  young  re- 

*  De  Bary,  in  "  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles"  (5rae  s6r.),  p.  343. 
t  Woronin,  in  De  Bary's    "Beitr.  zur.  Morph.   und  Physiol.   der  Pilze,"  ii. 
(1866),  pp.  1-11. 
I  Tulasne,  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (5me  sen),  October,  1866,  p.  211. 


174  FUNGI. 

ceptacles  are  still  spherical  and  white,  and  have  not  attained  a 
diameter  exceeding  the  one-twentieth  of  a  millimetre,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  compress  them  slightly  in  order  to  rupture  them  at  the 
summit  and  expel  the  "  scolecite."  This  occupies  the  centre 
of  the  little  sphere,  and  is  formed  of  from  six  to  eight  cells, 
curved  in  the  shape  of  a  comma. 

In  Peziza  melanoloma,  A.  and  S.,  the  same  observer  succeeded 
still  better  in  his  searches  after  the  scolecite,  which  he  remarks 
is  in  this  species  most  certainly  a  lateral  branch  of  the  filaments 
of  the  mycelium.  This  branch  is  isolated,  simple,  or  forked  at  a 
short  distance  from  its  base,  and  in  diameter  generally  exceeding 
that  of  the  filament  which  bears  it.  This  branch  is  soon  arcuate 
or  bent,  and  often  elongated  in  describing  a  spiral,  the  irregular 
turns  of  which  are  lax  or  compressed.  At  the  same  time  its 
interior,  at  first  continuous,  becomes  divided  by  transverse  septa 
into  eight  or  ten  or  more  cells.  Sometimes  this  special  branch 
terminates  in  a  crozier  shape,  which  is  involved  in  the  bent  part 
of  another  crozier  which  terminates  a  neighbouring  filament.  In 
other  cases  the  growing  branch  is  connected,  by  its  extremity, 
with  that  of  a  hooked  branch.  These  contacts,  however,  did 
not  appear  to  Tulasne  to  be  so  much  normal  as  accidental.  But 
of  the  importance  of  the  ringed  body,  or  "  scolecite,"  there  was 
no  room  for  doubt,  as  being  the  certain  and  habitual  rudiment 
of  the  fertile  cup.  In  fact,  inferior  cells  are  produced  from  the 
flexuous  filaments  which  creep  about  its  surface,  cover  and  sur- 
round it  on  all  sides,  while  joining  themselves  to  each  other. 
At  first  continuous,  then  septate,  these  cells  by  their  union  con- 
stitute a  cellular  tissue,  which  increases  little  by  little  until  the 
scolecite  is  so  closely  enveloped  that  only  its  superior  extremity 
can  be  seen.  These  cellular  masses  attain  a  considerable  volume 
before  the  hymenium  begins  to  show  itself  in  a  depression  of 
their  summit.  So  long  as  their  smallness  permits  of  their  being 
seen  in  the  field  of  the  microscope,  it  can  be  determined  that 
they  adhere  to  a  single  filament  of  the  mycelium  by  the  base  of 
the  scolecite  which  remains  naked. 

Although  Tulasne  could  not  satisfy  himself  of  the  presence 
of  any  act  of  copulation  in  Ascobolus  furfuraceus,  or  Peziza 


SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION.  175 

welanoloma,  he  was  more  successful  with  Peziza  omphalodes. 
As  early  as  1860  he  recognized  the  large  globose,  sessile,  and 
grouped  vesicles  which  originate  the  fertile  tissue,  but  did  not 
comprehend  the  part  which  these  macrocysts  were  to  perform. 
Each  of  these  emits  from  its  summit  a  cylindrical  tube,  generally 
flexuous,  but  always  more  or  less  bent  in  a  crozier  shape,  some- 
times attenuated  at  the  extremity.  Thus  provided,  these  utricles 
resemble  so  many  tun-shaped,  narrow-necked  retorts,  filled  with 
a  granular  thick  roseate  protoplasm.  In  the  middle  of  these, 
and  from  the  same  filaments,  are  generated  elongated  clavate 
cells,  with  paler  contents,  more  vacuoles,  which  Tulasne  names 
paracysts.  These,  though  produced  after  the  macrocysts,  finally 
exceed  them  in  height,  and  seem  to  cany  their  summit  so  as  to 
meet  the  crozier-like  prolongations.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
determine  to  which  of  these  two  orders  of  cells  belongs  the 
initiative  of  conjugation.  Sometimes  the  advance  seems  to  be 
on  one  side,  and  sometimes  on  the  other.  However  this  may  be, 
the  meeting  of  the  extremity  of  the 
connecting  tube  with  the  summit  of 
the  neighbouring  paracyst  is  a  con- 
stant fact,  observed  over  and  over 
again  a  hundred  times.  There  is  no 
real  junction  between  the  dissimilar 
cells  above  described,  except  at  the 
very  limited  point  where  they  meet, 
and  there  a  circular  perforation  may 
be  discerned  at  the  end,  defined  by  a 
round  swelling,  which  is  either  barely 
visible  or  sometimes  very  decided. 
Everywhere  else  the  two  organs  may  Fl°-  loo.-conjugatton  in  p««a 

J  J   omphalodes.     (Tulasne.) 

be  contiguous,  or  more  or  less  near  to- 
gether, but  they  are  free  from  any  adherence  whatever.  If  the 
plastic  matters  contained  in  the  conjugated  cells  influence  one 
another  reciprocally,  no  notable  modification  in  their  appearance 
results  at  first.  The  large  appendiculate  cell  seems,  however,  to 
yield  to  its  consort  a  portion  of  the  plasma  it  contains.  One 
thing  only  can  be  affirmed  from  these  phenomena,  that  the  con- 


176  FUNGI. 

jugated  cells,  especially  the  larger,  wither  and  empty  themselves, 
while  the  upright  compressed  filaments,  which  will  ultimately 
constitute  the  asci,  increase  and  multiply.* 

Certain  phenomena  concerned  in  the  development  of  the 
Erysiphei  belong  also  to  this  connection.  The  mycelium  of 
Erysiphe  cickoracearum,  like  that  of  other  species,  consists  of 
branched  filaments,  crossed  in  all  directions,  which  adhere  as 
they  climb  to  the  epidermis  of  the  plant  on  which  the  fungus 
lives  as  a  parasite.  The  perithecia  are  engendered  where  two 
filaments  cross  each  other.  These  swell  slightly  at  this  point, 


and  each  emits  a  process  which  imitates  a  nascent  branch,  and 
remains  upright  on  the  surface  of  the  epidermis.  The  process 
originating  from  the  inferior  filament  soon  acquires  an  oval  form 
and  a  diameter  double  that  of  the  filament;  then  it  becomes 
isolated  from  it  by  a  septum,  and  constitutes  a  distinct  cell, 
which  De  Baryf  terms  an  oocyst.  The  appendage  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  inferior  filament  always  adheres  intimately  to 
this  cell,  and  elongates  into  a  slender  cylindrical  tube,  which 

*  Tulasne,  "On  the  Phenomena  of  Copulation  in  certain  Fungi,"  in  "Ann. 
des  Sci.  Nat."  (1866),  p.  211. 

t  De  Bary,  "  Morphologic  und  Pbys.  der  Pilze,"  cap.  v.  p.  162. 


SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION.  177 

terminates  in  an  obtuse  manner  at  the  summit  of  the  same  cell. 
At  its  base  it  is  also  limited  by  a  septum,  and  soon  after  another 
appears  a  little  below  its  extremity  at  a  point  indicated  before- 
hand by  a  constriction.  This  new  septum  defines  a  terminal 
short  obtuse  cell,  the  antheridium,  which  is  thus  borne  on  a 
narrow  tube  like  a  sort  of  pedicel.  Immediately  after  the 
formation  of  the  antheridia  new  productions  show  themselves, 
both  around  the  oocyst  and  within  it.  Underneath  this  cell  eight 
or  ten  tubes  are  seen  to  spring  from  the  filament  which  bears  it ; 
these  join  themselves  by  the  sides  to  each  other  and  to  the  pedi- 
cel of  the  antheridium,  while  they  apply  their  inner  face  to  the 
oocyst,  above  which  their  extremities  soon  meet.  Each  of  the 
tubes  is  then  divided  by  transverse  septa  into  two  or  three  dis- 
tinct cells,  and  in  this  manner  the  cellular  walls  of  the  peri- 
thecia  come  into  existence. 

During  this  time  the  oocyst  enlarges  and  divides,  without 
its  being  possible  precisely  to  determine  the  way  in  which  it 
happens,  into  a  central  cell  and  an  outer  layer,  ordinarily 
simple,  of  smaller  cells,  contiguous  to  the  general  enveloping 
wall.  The  central  cell  becomes  the  single  ascus,  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  species,  and  the  layer  which  surrounds  it 
constitutes  the  inner  wall  of  its  perithecium.  The  only 
changes  afterwards  observed  are  the  increase  in  size  of  the 
perithecium,  the  production  of  the  root-like  filaments  which 
proceed  from  its  outer  wall,  the  brown  tint  which  it  assumes, 
and  finally  the  formation  of  the  sporidia  in  the  ascus.  Tho 
antheridium  remains  for  a  long  time  recognizable  without  under- 
going any  essential  modification,  but  the  dark  colour  of  the 
perithecium  soon  hides  it  from  the  observer's  eye.  De  Bary 
thinks  that  he  is  authorized  in  assuming  the  probability  that 
the  conceptacles  and  organs  of  fructification  of  others  of  the 
Ascomycetes,  including  the  Discomycetes  and  the  Tuberacei,  are 
the  results  of  sexual  generation. 

Certain  phenomena  which  have  been  observed  amongst 
the  Coniomycetcs  are  cited  as  examples  of  sexual  association. 
Amongst  these  may  be  named  the  conjugation  of  the  slender 
spores  of  the  first  generation,  produced  on  the  germinating 


178 


FUNGI. 


threads  of  Tilletia*  and  similar  acts  of  conjugation,  as  observed 
in  some  species  of  Ustilago.  Whether  this  interpretation  should 
be  placed  on  those  phenomena  in  the  present  condition  of  our 
knowledge  is  perhaps  an  open  question. 

Finally,  the  spermogonia  must  be  regarded  as  in  some  occult 
manner,  which  as  yet  has  baffled  detection,  influencing  the  per- 
fection of  sporidiaf  In  2th  y- 
tisma,  found  on  the  leaves  of 
maple  and  willow,  black  pitchy 
spots  at  "first  appear,  which 
contain  within  them  a  golden 
pulp,  in  which  very  slender 
corpuscles  are  mixed  with  an 
abundant  mucilage.  These 
corpuscles  are  the  spermatia, 
which  in  Rhytisma  acerinum 
are  linear  and  short,  in  Shy 
tisma  salicinum  globose.  When 
the  spermatia  are  expelled,  the 
stroma  thickens  for  the  pro- 
duction of  asci  and  sporidia, 
cefiT  m-TUletia  caries  with  conJu*rtin*  which  are  afterwards  developed 

during  the  autumn  and  winter. 

Several  of  the  species  of  Hysterium  also  possess  spermogonia, 
notably  H.  Fraxini,  which  may  be  distinguished  from  the  asci- 
gerous  perithecia  with  which  they  are  associated  by  their  smaller 
size  and  flask-like  shape.  From  these  the  spermatia  are  expelled 
long  before  the  maturity  of  the  spores.  In  Hypoderma  virgul- 
torum,  H.  commune,  and  H.  scirpinum,  the  spermogonia  are 
small  depressed  black  capsules,  which  contain  an  abundance  of 
minute  spermatia.  These  were  formerly  regarded  as  distinct 
species,  under  the  name  of  Leptostroma.  In  Stictis  ocellata  a 
great  number  of  the  tubercles  do  not  pass  into  the  perfect  state 

*  Berkeley,  in  "Journ.  Hort.  Soc."  vol.  ii.  p.  107;  Tulasne,  "  Ann.  d.  Sc. 
Nat."  (4rae  ser.),  vol.  ii.  tab.  12. 

t  Tulasne,  "New  Researches  on  the  Reproductive  Apparatus  of  Fungi  ;'* 
"Comptes  Rendus,"  vol.  xxxv.  (1852),  p.  841. 


SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION.  179 

until  after  they  have  produced  either  linear,  very  short  sper- 
matia,  or  stylospores,  the  latter  being  reproductive  bodies  of  an 
oblong  shape,  equal  in  size  to  the  perfect  sporidia.  Some  of 
the  tubercles  never  pass  beyond  this  stage. 

Again,  there  is  a  very  common  fungus  which  forms  black  dis- 
coid spots  on  dead  holly  leaves,  called  Ceuthospora  phacidioides, 
figured  by  Greville  in  his  "  Scottish  Cryptogamic  Flora,"  which 
expels  a  profusion  of  minute  stylospores ;  but  later  in  the 
season,  instead  of  these,  we  find  the  asci  and  sporidia  of  Phaci- 
dium  ilicisj  so  that  the  two  are  forms  and  conditions  the  one  of 
the  other. 

In  Tympanis  conspersa  the  spermogonia  are  much  more  com- 
monly met  with  than  the  complete  fruit.  There  is  a  great 
external  resemblance  in  them  to  the  ascigerous  cups,  but  there 
is  no  evidence  that  they  are  ever  transformed  into  such.  The 
perfect  sporidia  are  also  very  minute  and  numerous,  being 
contained  in  asci  borne  in  cups,  which  usually  surround  the 
spermogonia. 

In  several  species  of  Dermatea  the  stylospores  and  spermatia 
co-exist,  but  they  are  disseminated  before  the  appearance  of  the 
ascigerous  receptacles,  yet  they  are  produced  upon  a  common 
stroma  not  unlike  that  of  Tubercularia. 

In  its  early  stage  the  common  and  well-known  Bulgaria 
inquinans,  which  when  mature  looks  like  a  black  Peziza,  is  a 
little  tubercle,  the  whole  mass  of  which  is  divided  into  ramified 
lobes,  the  extremities  of  which  become,  towards  the  surface  of 
the  tubercle,  receptacles  from  whence  escape  waves  of  sper- 
matia which  are  colourless,  or  stylospores  mixed  with  them 
which  are  larger  and  nearly  black. 

Amongst  the  Sphceriacei  numerous  instances  might  be  cited 
of  minute  stylosporous  bodies  in  consort  with,  or  preceding, 
the  ascigerous  receptacles.  A  very  familiar  example  may  be 
found  at  the  base  of  old  nettle  stems  in  what  has  been  named 
Apospficeria  acuta,  but  which  truly  are  only  the  stylospores  of 
the  Sph&ria  coniformis,  the  perithecia  of  which  flourish  in  com- 
pany or  in  close  proximity  to  them.  Most  of  these  bodies  are 
so  minute,  delicate,  and  hyaline  that  the  difficulties  in  the  way 


180  FUNGI. 

of  tracing  them  in  tbeir  relations  to  the  bodies  with  which  they 
are  associated  are  very  great.  Nevertheless  there  is  strong  pre- 
sumption in  favour  of  regarding  some  of  them  as  performing 
the  functions  which  the  name  applied  to  them  indicates. 

Professor  de  Bary  cautiously  refrains  from  accepting  spermatia 
other  than  as  doubtful  or  at  least  uncertain  sexual  bodies.*  He 
says  that  the  Messrs.  Tulasne  have  supposed  that  the  spermo- 
gonia  represented  the  male  sex,  and  that  the  spermatia  were 
analogous  to  spermatozoids.  Their  opinion  depends  on  two 
plausible  reasons, — the  spermatia,  in  fact,  do  not  germinate, 
and  the  development  of  the  spermogonia  generally  precedes 
the  appearance  of  the  sporophorous  organs,  a  double  circum- 
stance which  reminds  us  of  what  is  known  of  the  spermato- 
zoids and  antheridia  of  other  vegetables.  It  remained  to 
discover  which  were  the  female  organs  which  underwent 
fecundation  from  the  spermatia. 

Many  organs  placed  at  first  amongst  spermatia  have  been 
recognized  by  M.  Tulasne  as  being  themselves  susceptible  of 
germination,  and  consequently  ought  to  take  their  place  among 
legitimate  spores.  Then  it  must  be  considered  that  very  many 
spores  can  only  germinate  under  certain  conditions.  It  is, 
therefore,  for  the  present  a  doubtful  question  whether  there 
exist  really  any  spermatia  incapable  of  germination,  or  if  the 
default  of  germination  of  these  corpuscles  does  not  rather 
depend  on  the  experiments  hitherto  attempted  not  having  in- 
cluded the  conditions  required  by  the  phenomena.  Moreover, 
as  yet  no  trace  has  been  discovered  of  the  female  organs  which 
are  specially  fecundated  by  the  spermatia. 

Finally,  there  exist  in  the  Ascomycetes  certain  organs  of 
reproduction,  diverse  spore-bearing  apparatus,  pycnidia,  and 
others,  which,  like  the  spermogonia,  usually  precede  asco- 
phorous  fruits.  The  real  nature  of  the  spermogonia  and 
spermatia  should  therefore  be  regarded  as,  at  present,  very 
uncertain;  as  regards,  however,  the  spermatia  which  have 
never  been  seen  to  germinate,  perhaps  it  is  as  well  not  to 
absolutely  reject  the  first  opinion  formed  concerning  them,  or 
*  De  Bary,  "Morphologic  und  Physiologic  der  Pilze,"  cap.  v.  p.  168. 


SEXUAL   REPRODUCTION.  181 

perhaps  they  might  be  thought  to  perform  the  part  of  andro- 
spores,  attributing  to  that  expression  the  meaning  which 
Pringsheim  gives  it  in  the  Conferoce.  The  experiments  per- 
formed with  the  spermatia  which  do  not  germinate,  and  with 
the  spermogonia  of  the  Uredines,  do  not,  at  any  rate,  appear 
to  justify  the  reputed  masculine  or  fecundative  nature  of  these 
organs.  The  spermogonia  constantly  accompany  or  precede 
fruits  of  jSZcidium,  whence  naturally  follows  the  presumption 
that  the  first  are  in  a  sexual  relation  to  the  second.  Still, 
when  Tulasne  cultivated  Endophyllum  sempervivum,  he  obtained 
on  some  perfectly  isolated  rosettes  of  Sempervivum  some  JKcidium 
richly  provided  with  normal  and  fertile  spores,  without  any  trace 
of  spermogonia  or  of  spermatia. 


IX. 

POLYMORPHISM. 

A  GREAT  number  of  very  interesting  facts  have  during  late 
years  been  brought  to  light  of  the  different  forms  which  fungi 
assume  in  the  course  of  their  development.  At  the  same  time, 
we  fear  that  a  great  many  assumptions  have  been  accepted  for 
fact,  and  supposed  connections  and  relations  between  two  or 
three  or  more  so-called  species,  belonging  to  different  genera, 
have  upon  insufficient  data  been  regarded  as  so  many  states  or 
conditions  of  one  and  the  same  plant.  Had  the  very  pertinent 
suggestions  of  Professor  de  Bary  been  more  generally  acted 
upon,  these  suspicions  would  have  been  baseless.  His  observa- 
tions are  so  valuable  as  a  caution,  that  we  cannot  forbear  prefacing 
our  own  remarks  on  this  subject  by  quoting  them.*  In  order 
to  determine,  he  says,  whether  an  organic  form,  an  organ,  or  an 
organism,  belongs  to  the  same  series  of  development  as  another, 
or  that  which  is  the  same  is  developed  from  it,  or  vice  versa, 
there  is  only  one  way,  viz.,  to  observe  how  the  second  grows  out 
of  the  first.  We  see  the  commencement  of  the  second  begin  as 
a  part  of  the  first,  perfect  itself  in  connection  with  it,  and  at 
last  it  often  becomes  independent ;  but  be  it  through  spontaneous 
dismembering  from  the  first,  or  that  the  latter  be  destroyed 
and  the  second  remains,  both  their  disunited  bodies  are  always 
connected  together  in  organic  continuity,  as  parts  of  a  whole 
(single  one)  that  can  cease  earlier  or  later. 

By  observing  the  organic  continuity,  we  know  that  the  apple 
IB  the  product  of  development  of  an  apple-tree,  and  not  hung  on 

*  De  Bary,  in  "  Quarterly  German  Magazine"  (1872),  p.  197. 


POLYMORPHISM. 


183 


it  by  chance,  that  the  pip  of  an  apple  is  a  product  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  apple,  and  that  from  the  pip  an  apple-tree  can  at  last 
be  developed,  that  therewith  all  these  bodies  are  members  of  a 
sphere  of  development  or  form.  It  is  the  same  with  every  simi- 
lar experience  of  our  daily  life,  that  where  an  apple-tree  stands, 
many  apples  lie  on  the  ground,  or  that  in  the  place  where  apple- 
pips  are  sown  seedlings,  little  apple-trees,  grow  out  of  the 
ground,  is  not  important  to  our  view  of  the  course  of  develop- 
ment. Every  one  recognizes  that  in  his  daily  life,  because  he 
laughs  at  a  person  who  thinks  a  plum  which  lies  under  an  apple- 
tree  has  grown  on  it,  or  that  the  weeds  which  appear  among  the 
apple  seedlings  come  from  apple-pips.  If  the  apple-tree  with 
its  fruit  and  seed  were  microscopically  small,  it  would  not  make 
the  difference  of  a  hair's  breadth  in  the  form  of  the  question  or 
the  method  of  answering  it,  as  the  size  of  the  object  can 
be  of  no  importance  to  the  latter,  and  the  questions  which  apply 
to  microscopical  fungi  are  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner. 

If  it  then  be  asserted  that  two  or  several  forms  belong  to  a  series 
of  development  of  one  kind,  it  can  only  be  based  on  the  fact  of 
their  organic  continuity.  The  proof  is  more  difficult  than  in  large 
plants,  partly  because  of  the  delicacy,  minuteness,  and  fragility 
of  the  single  parts,  particularly  the  greater  part  of  the  mycelia, 
partly  because  of  the  resemblance  of  the  latter  in  different 
species,  and  therefore  follows  the  danger  of  confusing  them  with 
different  kinds,  and  finally,  partly  in  consequence  of  the  presence 
of  different  kinds  in  the  same  substratum,  and  therefore  the 
mixture  not  only  of  different  sorts  of  mycelia,  but  also  that 
different  kinds  of  spores  are  sown.  With  some  care  and  pa- 
tience, these  difficulties  are  in  'no  way  insurmountable,  and  they 
must  at  any  rate  be  overcome ;  the  organic  continuity  or  non- 
continuity  must  be  cleared  up,  unless  the  question  respecting  the 
course  of  development,  and  the  series  of  forms  of  special  kinds, 
be  laid  on  one  side  as  insolvable. 

Simple  and  intelligible  as  these  principles  are,  they  have  not 
always  been  acted  upon,  but  partly  neglected,  partly  expressly 
rejected,  not  because  they  were  considered  false,  but  because  the 
difficulties  of  their  application  were  looked  upon  as  insurmount- 


184  FUNGI. 

able.  Therefore  another  method  of  examination  was  adopted  ; 
the  spores  of  a  certain  form  were  sown,  and  sooner  or  later  they 
were  looked  after  to  see  what  the  seed  had  produced — not  every 
single  spore — but  the  seed  en  masse,  that  is,  in  other  words, 
what  had  grown  on  that  place  where  the  seed  had  been  sown. 
As  far  as  it  relates  to  those  forms  which  are  so  widely  spread, 
and  above  all  grow  in  conjunction  with  one  another — and  that 
is  always  the  case  in  the  specimens  of  which  we  speak — we  can 
never  be  sure  that  the  spores  of  the  form  which  we  mean  to  test 
are  not  mingled  with  those  of  another  species.  He  who  has 
made  an  attentive  and  minute  examination  of  this  kind  knows 
that  we  may  be  sure  to  find  such  a  mixture,  and  that  such  an 
one  was  there  can  be  afterwards  decidedly  proved.  From  the 
seed  which  is  sown,  these  spores,  for  which  the  substratum  was 
most  suitable,  will  more  easily  germinate,  and  their  development 
will  follow  the  more  quickly.  The  favoured  germs  will  suppress 
the  less  favoured,  and  grow  up  at  their  expense.  The  same 
relation  exists  between  them  as  between  the  seeds,  germs,  and 
seedlings  of  a  sown  summer  plant,  and  the  seeds  which  have 
been  undesignedly  sown  with  it,  only  in  a  still  more  striking 
manner,  in  consequence  of  the  relatively  quick  development  of 
the  mildew  fungus. 

Therefore,  that  from  the  latter  a  decided  form,  or  a  mixture  of 
several  forms,  is  to  be  found  sown  on  one  spot,  is  no  proof  of  their 
generic  connection  with  one  which  has  been  sown  for  the  purpose 
of  experiments ;  and  the  matter  will  only  be  more  confused  if  we 
call  imagination  to  our  aid,  and  place  the  forms  which  are  found 
near  one  another,  according  to  a  real  or  fancied  resemblance,  in  a 
certain  series  of  development.  All  those  statements  on  the  sphere 
of  form  and  connection,  which  have  for  their  basis  such  a  super- 
ficial work,  and  are  not  based  on  the  clear  exposition  of  the  con- 
tinuity of  development,  as  by  the  origin  of  the  connection  of  the 
Mucor  with  Penicillium,  Oidium  lactis  and  Mucor,  Oidium  and 
Penicillium,  are  rejected  as  mi  founded. 

A  source  of  error,  which  can  also  interfere  in  the  last-named 
superficial  method  of  cultivation  for  experiments,  is,  viz.,  that 
heterogeneous  unwished-for  spores  intrude  themselves  from 


POLYMORPHISM.  185 

without,  among  the  seed  which  is  sown,  but  that  has  'been 
until  now  quite  disregarded.  It  is  of  great  importance  in 
practice,  but  in  truth,  for  our  present  purpose,  synonymous  with 
what  we  have  already  written.  Those  learned  in  the  science  of 
this  kind  of  culture  lay  great  stress  on  its  importance,  and 
many  apparatuses  have  been  constructed,  called  "  purely  cultivat- 
ing machines,"  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  spores  which 
are  contained  in  the  substratum,  and  preventing  the  intrusion  of 
those  from  without.  The  mixture  in  the  seed  which  is  sown 
has  of  course  not  been  obviated.  These  machines  may,  perhaps, 
in  every  other  respect,  fulfil  their  purpose,  but  they  cannot 
change  the  form  of  the  question,  and  the  most  ingeniously  con- 
structed apparatus  cannot  replace  the  attention  and  intellect  of 
the  observer.  * 

Two  distinct  kinds  of  phenomena  have  been  grouped  under 
the  term  "  polymorphy."  In  one  series  two  or  more  forms  of 
fruit  occur  consecutively  or  simultaneously  on  the  same  indi- 
vidual, and  in  the  other  two  or  more  forms  appear  on  a  dif- 
ferent mycelium,  on  a  different  part  of  the  same  plant,  or  on  a 
matrix  wholly  distinct  and  different ;  in  the  latter  case  the  con- 
nection being  attested  or  suspected  circumstantially,  in  the  former 
proved  by  the  method  suggested  by  De  Bary.  It  will  at  once  be 
conceded  that  in  cases  where  actual  growth  and  development 
substantiate  the  facts  the  polymorphy  is  undoubted,  whilst  in  the 
other  series  it  can  at  best  be  little  more  than  suspected.  We 
will  endeavour  to  illustrate  both  these  series  by  examples. 

One  of  the  first  and  earliest  suspected  cases  of  dualism,  which 
long  puzzled  the  older  mycologists,  was  observed  amongst  the 
Uredines,  and  many  years  ago  it  was  held  that  there  must  be  some 
mysterious  association  between  the  "red  rust"  (Trichobasis  ruligo 
vera)  of  wheat  and  grasses  and  the  "corn  mildew"  (Puccinia 

*  The  method  pursued  by  Messrs.  Berkeley  and  Hoffmann  of  surrounding  the 
drop  of  fluid,  in  which  a  definite  number  of  spores  or  yeast  globules  had  been 
placed,  with  a  pellicle  of  air,  into  which  the  germinating  threads  might  pass 
and  fructify,  is  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  that  has  been  adopted,  though  it 
requires  nice  manipulation.  If  carefully  managed,  the  result  is  irrefragable, 
though  doubts  have  been  cast,  without  any  reason,  on  their  observations. 


186  FUNGI. 

graminis)  which  succeeded  it.  The  simple  spored  rust  first 
makes  its  appearance,  and  later  the  bilocular  "  mildew."  It  is 
by  no  means  uncommon  to  find  the  two  forms  in  the  same  pus- 
tule. Some  have  held,  without  good  reason,  that  the  simple 
cells  became  afterwards  divided  and  converted  into  Puccinia, 
but  this  is  not  the  case ;  the  uredo-spores  are  always  simple,  and 
remain  so  except  in  Uredo  linearis,  where  every  intermediate 
stage  has  been  observed.  Both  are  also  perfect  in  their  kind, 
and  capable  of  germination. 

What  the  precise  relations  between  the  two  forms  may  be  has 
as  yet  never  been  revealed  to  observers,  but  that  the  two  forms 
belong  to  one  species  is  not  now  doubted.  Very  many  species 
of  Puccinia  have  already  been  found  associated  with  a  corre- 
sponding Trichobasis,  and  of  Phraymidium  with  a  relative  Lecy- 
thea,  but  it  may  be  open  to  grave  doubt  whether  some  of  the 
very  many  species  associated  by  authors  are  not  so  classed  upon 
suspicion  rather  than  observation.  We  are  ready  to  admit  that 
the  evidence  is  strong  in  favour  of  the  dimorphism  of  a  large 
number  of  species — it  may  be  in  all,  but  this  awaits  proof,  or 
substantial  presumption  on  good  grounds.  Up  to  the  present  we 
know  that  there  are  species  of  Trichobasis  which  have  never 
been  traced  to  association  with  a  Puccinia,  and  doubtless  there 
will  be  species  of  Puccinia  for  which  no  corresponding  Uredo 
or  Trichobasis  can  be  found. 

Tulasne  remarks,  in  reference  to  Puccinia  soncJd,  in  one  of  his 
memeirs,  that  this  curious  species  exhibits,  in  effect,  that  a  Puc- 
cinia may  unite  three  sorts  of  reproductive  bodies,  which,  taking 
part,  constitute  for  the  mycologists  of  the  day  three  entirely  dif- 
ferent plants — a  Trichobasis,  a  Uromyces,  and  a  Puccinia.  The 
Uredines  are  not  less  rich,  he  adds,  in  reproductive  bodies  of 
divers  sorts  than  the  Pyrenomycetes  and  the  Discomycetes ;  and 
we  should  not  be  surprised  at  this,  since  it  seems  to  be  a  law, 
almost  constant  in  the  general  harmony  of  nature,  that  the 
smaller  the  organized  beings  are,  the  more  their  races  arc 
prolific. 

•     In  Puccinia  variabilis,  GTCV.,  it  is  common  to  find  a  unicellular 
form,  species  of  Trichobasis,  in  the  same  pustules.    A  like  circum- 


POLYMORPHISM.  187 

stance  occurs  with  Puccinia  violarum,  Link.,  and  Trichobasis-vio- 
larum,  B.;  \vitH  Puccinia  fallens,  C.,  and  Trickobasisfallens,Desm.', 
also  with  Puccinia  menthcK,  R.,  and  TricJiobasis  Labiatarum,  D.  C. 
In  Hfelampsora,  again,  the  prismatic  pseudospores  of  Melampsora 
salicina,  Lev.,  are  the  winter  fruits  of  Lecythea  caprearum,  Lev., 
as  those  of  Melampsora  populina.  Lev.,  are  of  Lecythea  populina, 
Lev.  In  the  species  of  Lecythea  themselves  will  be  found,  as  De 
Bary  *  has  shown,  hyaline  cysts  of  a  larger  size,  which  surround 
the  pseudospores  in  the  pustules  in  which  they  are  developed. 

A  good  illustration  of  dimorphism  in  one  of  the  commonest  of 
moulds  is  given  by  De  Bary  in  a  paper  from  which  we  have 
already  quoted.f  He  writes  thus : — In  every  household  there  is 
a  frequent  unbidden  guest,  which  appears  particularly  on  pre- 
served fruits,  viz.,  the  mould  which  is  called  Aspergillus  glaucus. 
It  shows  itself  to  the  naked  eye  as  a  woolly  floccy  crust  over 
the  substance,  first  purely  white,  then  gradually  covered  with 
little  fine  glaucous,  or  dark  green  dusty  heads.  More  minute 
microscopical  examination  shows  that  the  fungus  consists  of 
richly  ramified  fine  filaments,  which  are  partly  disseminated  in 
the  substratum,  and  partly  raised  obliquely  over  it.  They  have 
a  cylindrical  form  with  rounded  ends,  and  are  divided  into  long 
outstretched  members,  each  of  which  possesses  the  property 
which  legitimatizes  it  as  a  vesicle  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
word ;  it  contains,  enclosed  within  a  delicate  structureless  wall, 
those  bodies  which  bear  the  appearance  of  a  finely  granulated 
mucous  substance,  which  is  designated  by  the  name  of  proto- 
plasm, and  which  either  equally  fills  the  cells,  or  the  older  the 
cell  the  more  it  is  filled  with  watery  cavities  called  vacuoles. 

All  parts  are  at  first  colourless.  The  increase  in  the  length 
of  the  filaments  takes  place  through  the  preponderating  growth 
near  their  points ;  these  continually  push  forward,  and,  at  a 
short  distance  from  them,  successive  new  partitions  rise  up, 
but  at  a  greater  distance,  the  growth  in  the  length  ceases. 
This  kind  of  growth  is  called  point  growth.  The  twigs  and 

*  DeBary,  "  Uber  die  Brand pilze"  (Berlin,  1853),  pi.  iv.  figs.  3,  4,  5. 
•f-  A.  de  Bary,  on  Mildew  and  Fermentation,  in  "Quarterly  German  Magazine," 
vol.  ii.  1872. 


188  FUNGI. 

branches  spring  up  as  lateral  dilatations  of  the  principal  fila- 
ment, which,  once  designed,  enlarges  according  to  the  point 
growth.  This  point  growth  of  every  branch  is,  to  a  certain 
extent,  unlimited.  The  filaments  in  and  on  the  substratum  are 
the  first  existing  members  of  the  fungus ;  they  continue  so  long 
as  it  vegetates.  As  the  parts  which  absorb  nourishment  from  and 
consume  the  substance,  they  are  called  the  mycelium.  Nearly 
every  fungus  possesses  a  mycelium,  which,  without  regard  to 
the  specific  difference  of  form  and  size,  especially  shows  the 
described  nature  in  its  construction  and  growth. 

The  superficial  threads  of  the  mycelium  produce  other  fila- 
ments beside  those  numerous  branches  which  have  been  described, 
and  which  are  the  fruit  thread  (carpophore)  or  conidia  thread. 
These  are  on  an  average  thicker  than  the  mycelium  threads,  and 
only  exceptionally  ramified  or  furnished  with  partitions;  they 
rise  almost  perpendicularly  into  the  air,  and  attain  a  length  of, 
on  an  average,  half  a  millimetre,  or  one-fiftieth  of  an  inch,  but 
they  seldom  become  longer,  and  then  their  growth  is  at  an  end. 
Their  free  upper  end  swells  in  a  rounded  manner,  and  from  this 
is  produced,  on  the  whole  of  its  upper  part,  rayed  divergent 
protuberances,  which  attain  an  oval  form,  and  a  length  almost 
equal  to  their  radius,  or,  in  weaker  specimens,  the  diameter  of 
the  rounded  head.  The  rayed  divergent  protuberances  are  the 
direct  producers  and  bearers  of  the  propagating  cells,  spores, 
or  conidia,  and  are  called  sterigmata.  Every  sterigma  at  first 
produces  at  its  point  a  little  round  protuberance,  which,  with  a 
strong  narrow  basis,  rests  upon  the  sterigma.  These  are  filled 
with  protoplasm,  swell  more  and  more,  and,  after  some  time, 
separate  themselves  by  a  partion  from  the  sterigma  into  inde- 
pendent cells,  spores,  or  conidia. 

The  formation  of  the  first  spore  takes  place  at  the  same  end 
of  the  sterigma,  and  in  the  same  manner  a  second  follows,  then 
a  third,  and  so  on ;  every  one  which  springs  up  later  pushes 
its  predecessor  in  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the  sterigma  in 
the  same  degree  in  which  it  grows  itself ;  every  successive  spore 
formed  from  a  sterigma  remains  for  a  time  in  a  row  with  one 
another.  Consequently  every  sterigma  bears  on  its  apex  a  chain 


POLYMORPHISM. 


189 


of  spores,  which  are  so  much  the  older,  the  farther  they  stand 
from  the  sterigma.  The  number  of  the  links  in  a  chain  of  spores 
reaches  in  normal  specimens  to  ten  or  more.  All  sterigmata 
spring  up  at  the  same  time,  and  keep  pace  with  one  another 
in  the  formation  of  the  spores.  Every  spore  grows  for  a  time, 
according  to  its  construction,  and  at  last  separates  itself  from 


FIG.    102.— a.  Aspergillus  glaucvs ;   b.   couidia ;   c.   germinating   conidium ;    d.  con- 
ceptaclc  of  Eurotium ;  e.  ascus. 

its  neighbours.  The  mass  of  dismembered  spores  forms  that 
fine  glaucous  hue  which  is  mentioned  above.  The  spores,  there- 
fore, are  articulated  in  rows,  one  after  the  other,  from  the  ends 
of  the  sterigmata.  The  ripe  spore,  or  conidium,  is  a  cell  of  a 
round  or  broadly  oval  form,  filled  svith  a  colourless  protoplasm, 


100  FUNGI. 

and,  if  observed   separately,  is  found  to   be  provided  with  a 
brownish,  finely  verruculose,  dotted  wall. 

The  same  mycelium  which  forms  the  pedicel  for  the  conidia 
when  it  is  near  the  end  of  its  development,  forms  by  normal 
vegetation  a  second  kind  of  fructification.  It  begins  as  delicate 
thin  little  branches,  which  are  not  to  be  distinguished  by  the 
naked  eye,  and  which  mostly  in  four  or  six  turns,  after  a  quickly 
terminated  growth,  wind  their  ends  like  a  corkscrew.  (Fig.  102.) 
The  sinuations  decrease  in  width  more  and  more,  till  they  at  last 
reach^  close  to  one  another,  and  the  whole  end  changes  from  the 
form  of  a  corkscrew  into  that  of  a  hollow  screw.  In  and  on 
that  screw-like  body,  a  change  of  a  complicated  kind  takes  place, 
which  is  a  productive  process.  In  consequence  of  this,  from  the 
screw  body  a  globose  receptacle  is  formed,  consisting  of  a  thin 
wall  of  delicate  cells,  and  a  closely  entwined  row  of  cells  sur- 
rounded by  this  dense  mass  (d).  By  the  enlargement  of  all  these 
parts  the  round  body  grows  so  much,  that  by  the  time  it  is  ripe 
it  is  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  The  outer  surface  of  the  wall 
assumes  a  compactness  and  a  bright  yellow  colour ;  the  greater 
part  of  the  cells  of  the  inner  mass  become  asci  for  the  formation 
of  sporidia,  while  they  free  themselves  from  the  reciprocal  union, 
take  a  broad  oval  form,  and  each  one  produces  within  its  inner 
space  eight  sporidia  (e).  These  soon  entirely  fill  the  ascus. 
When  they  are  quite  ripe,  the  wall  of  the  conceptacle  becomes 
brittle,  and  from  irregular  fissures,  arising  easily  from  contact, 
the  colourless  round  sporidia  are  liberated. 

The  pedicels  of  both  kinds  of  fruit  are  formed  from  the  same 
mycelium  in  the  order  just  described.  If  we  examine  attentively, 
we  can  often  see  both  springing  up  close  to  one  another  from  the 
same  filament  of  a  mycelium.  This  is  not  very  easy  in  the  close 
interlacing  of  the  stalks  of  a  mass  of  fungi  in  consequence  of 
their  delicacy  and  fragility.  Before  their  connection  was  known, 
the  conceptacles  and  the  conidia  pedicels  were  considered  as 
organs  of  two  very  different  species  of  fungi.  The  conceptacles 
were  called  Eurotium  herbariorum,  and  the  conidia  bearers  were 
called  Aspergillus  glaucus. 

Allied  to  Eurotium  is  the  group  of  ErysipJiei,  in  which  well- 


POLYMORPHISM.  191 

authenticated  polymorphy  prevails.  These  fungi  are  developed 
on  the  green  parts  of  growing  plants,  and  at  first  consist  of  a 
white  mouldy  stratum,  composed  of  delicate  mycelium,  on  which 
erect  threads  are  produced,  which  break  up  into  subglobose 
joints  or  conidia.  The  species  on  grass  was  named  Oidium 
monilioides  before  its  relationship  was  known,  but  undoubtedly 
this  is  only  the  conidia  of  Erysiplie  f/raminis.  In  like  manner 
the  vine  disease  (Oidium  Tuckeri)  is  most  probably  only  the 
conidia  of  a  species  of  Erysiphe,  of  which  the  perfect  condition 
has  not  yet  been  discovered.  On  roses  the  old  Oidium  leuco- 
ctfniu-m  is  but  the  conidia  of  Spfuerotheca  pannosa,  and  so 
of  other  species.  The  Erysiphe  which  ultimately  appears  on 
the  same  mycelium  consists  of  globose  perithecia,  externally 


PIG.  103.—  Erysiphe  cichoracearum.    o.  Receptacle  ;  o.  mycelium.    (De  Bary.) 

furnished  with  thread-like  appendages,  and  internally  with  usci 
containing  sporidia.  In  this  genus  there  are  no  less  than  five 
different  forms  of  fruit,*  the  multiform  threads  on  the  mycelium, 
already  alluded  to  as  forms  of  Oidium,  the  asci  contained  in 
the  sporangia,  which  is  the  proper  fruit  of  the  Erysiphe^  larger 
stylospores  which  are  produced  in  other  sporangia,  the  smaller 
stylospores  which  are  generated  in  the  pycnidia,  and  separate 
sporules  which  are  sometimes  formed  in  the  joints  of  the  neck- 
laces  of  the  conidia.  These  forms  are  figured  in  the  "  Introduction 

*  Berkeley,  "Introd.  Crypt.  Bot."  p.  78,  fig.  20. 


192  FUNGI. 

to  Cryptogamic  Botany  "  from  Sphcerotheca  Castagnei9  which  is 
the  hop  mildew.*  The  vine  disease,  hop  mildew,  and  rose 
mildew,  are  the  most  destructive  species  of  this  group,  and  the 
constant  annoyance  of  cultivators. 

When  first  describing  an  allied  fungus  found  on  old  paper,  and 
named  Ascotricha  chartarum,  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley  called  atten- 
tion to  the  presence  of  globose  conidia  attached  to  the  threads 
which  surround  the  conceptacles,t  and  this  occurred  as  long 
since  as  1838.  In  a  recent  species  of  Chcetomium  found  on  old 
sacking,  Chcetomium  griseum,  Cooke,J  we  have  found  tufts  in  all 
respects  similar  externally  to  the  Chcetomium,  but  no  perithecium 
was  formed,  naked  conidia  being  developed  apparently  at  the 
base  of  the  coloured  threads.  In  Chcetomium  funicolum,  Cooke, 
a  black  mould  was  also  found  which  may  possibly  prove  to  be 
its  conidia,  but  at  present  there  is  no  direct  evidence. 

The  brothers  Tulasne  have  made  us  acquainted  with  a  greater 
number  of  instances  amongst  the  Sphceriacei  in  which  multiple 
organs  of  reproduction  prevail.  Very  often  old  and  decaying 
individuals  belonging  to  species  of  Boletus  will  be  found  filled, 
and  their  entire  substance  internally  replaced,  by  the  threads  and 
multitudinous  spores  of  a  golden  yellow  parasite,  to  which  the 
name  of  Sepedonium  chrysospermum  has  been  given.  According 
to  Tulasne,  this  is  merely  a  condition  of  a  sphreriaceous  fungus 
belonging  to  his  genus  Hypomyces.§ 

The  same  observers  also  first  demonstrated  that  Trichoderma 
viride,  P.,  was  but  the  conidia-bearing  stage  of  Hypocrca  rufa, 
P.,  another  sphaeriaceous  fungus.  The  ascigerous  stroma  of  the 
latter  is  indeed  frequently  associated  in  a  very  close  manner  with 
the  cushions  of  the  pretended  Trichoderma,  or  in  other  cases  the 
same  stroma  will  give  rise  to  a  different  apparatus  of  conidia, 
of  which  the  principal  elements  are  acicular  filaments,  which  are 
short,  upright,  and  almost  simple,  and  which  give  rise  to  small 

*  See  also  Berkeley,  in  "Trans.  Ilort.  Soc.  London,"  vol.  ix.  p.  68. 
t  Berkeley,  in  "Ann.  Nat.  Hist."  (June,  1838),  No.  116. 
I  "  Grevillea,"  vol.  i.  p.  176. 

§  Tulasne,  "On  Certain  Fungicolous  Sphserije/'i  n  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat." 
4»"ser.  xiii.  (1860>,  .p.  5. 


POLYMORPHISM.  193 

oval  conidia  which  are  solitary  on  the  tips  of  the  threads. 
Therefore  this  Hypocrea  will  possess  two  different  kinds  of 
conidia1,  as  is  the  case  in  many  species  of  Sypomyces. 

A  most  familiar  instance  of  dualism  will  be  found  in  Nectria 
cinnabarina,  of  which  the  conidia  form  is  one  of  the  most  common 
of  fungi,  forming  little  reddish  nodules  on  all  kinds  of  dead 
twigs.* 

Almost  any  small  currant  twig  which  has  been  lying  on  the 
ground  in  a  damp  situation  will  afford  an  opportunity  of  studying 
this  phenomenon.  The  whole  surface  of  the  twig  will  be  covered 
from  end  to  end  with  little  bright  pink  prominences,  bursting 
through  the  bark  at  regular  distances,  scarcely  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  apart.  Towards  one  end  of  the  twig  probably  the  pro- 
minences will  be  of  a  deeper,  richer  colour,  like 
powdered  cinnabar.  The  naked  eye  is  sufficient 
to  detect  some  difference  between  the  two -kinds 
of  pustules,  and  where  the  two  merge  into  each 
other  specks  of  cinnabar  will  be  visible  on  the 
pink  projections.  By  removing  the  bark  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  pink  bodies  have  a  sort  of 
paler  stem,  which  spreads  above  into  a  somewhat 
globose  head,  covered  with  a  delicate  mealy  bloom. 
At  the  base  it  penetrates  to  the  inner  bark,  and 
from  it  the  threads  of  mycelium  branch  in  all 
directions,  confined,  however,  to  the  bark,  and 
not  entering  the  woody  tissues  beneath.  The 
head,  placed  under  examination,  will  be  found  to 
consist  of  delicate  parallel  threads  compacted  to- 
gether to  form  the  stem  and  head.  Some  of  these 
threads  are  simple,  others  are  branched,  bearing  ^m.  ioj.  —  Twig 

&  with     Tuberculana 

here  and  there  upon  them  delicate  little  bodies,  on  th<  upper  por- 

,  .   ,  ,.,     A,    .      .      .  ...  tion,  Nectriaontke 

which  are  readily  detached,  and  which  form  the  lower. 

mealy  bloom  which  covers  the  surface.     These  are  the  conidia, 

little  slender  cylindrical  bodies,  rounded  at  the  ends. 

Passing  to  the  other  bodies,  which  are   of  a  deeper  colour,  it 

*  "A  Currant  Twig,  and  Something  on  it,"  in  "  Gardener's  Chronicle," 
January  28,  1871. 


194  FUNGI. 

will  soon  be  discovered  that,  instead  of  being  simple  rounded 
heads,  each  tubercle  is  composed  of  numerous  smaller,  nearly 
globose  bodies,  closely  packed  together,  often  compressed,  all 


TIG.  105. — Section  of  Tubcrcularia.     c.  Threads  with  conidia.* 

united  to  a  base  closely  resembling  the  base  of  the  other 
tubercles.  If  for  a  moment  we  look  at  one  of  the  tubercles  near 
the  spot  where  the  crimson  tubercles  seem  to  merge  into  the 
pink,  we  shall  not  only  find  them  particoloured,  but  that  the  red 
points  are  the  identical  globose  little  heads  just  observed  in 
clusters.  This  will  lead  to  the  suspicion,  which  can  afterwards 
be  verified,  that  the  red  heads  are  really  produced  on  the  stem 
or  stroma  of  the  pink  tubercles. 

A  section  of  one  of  the  red  tubercles  will  show  us  how  much 
the  internal  structure  differs.  The  little  subglobose  bodies 
which  spring  from  a  common  stroma  or  stem  are  hollow  shells 
or  capsules,  externally  granular,  internally  filled  with  a  gelatinous 
nucleus.  They  are,  indeed,  the  perithecia  of  a  sphseriaceous 
fungus  of  the  genus  Nectria,  and  the  gelatinous  nucleus  contains 
the  fructification.  Still  further  examination  will  show  that  this 
fructification  consists  of  cylindrical  asci,  each  enclosing  eight 
elliptical  sporidia,  closely  packed  together,  and  mixed  with 
slender  threads  called  paraphyses. 

Here,  then,  we  have  undoubted  evidence  of  Nectria  cinna- 
bariwa,  with  its  fruit,  produced  in  asci  growing  from  the  stroma 
or  stem,  and  in  intimate  relaiionship  with  what  was  formerly 
named  Tubercularia  vulgaris.  A  fungus  with  two  forms  of  fruit, 

*  Figs.  104  to  106  by  permission  from  the  "  Grarclener's  Chronicle." 


POLYMORPHISM. 


195 


one  proper  to  the  pink,  or  Tubercularia  form,  with  naked  slender 
conidia,  the  other  proper  to  the  mature  fungus,  enclosed  in  asci, 
and  generated  within  the  walls  of  a  peritheeium.  Instances  of 
this  kind  are  now  known  to  be  far  from  uncommon,  although 


Fio.  106.— D.  Necti-'ia,   surrounding    Tubercularia;    E.  tuft  of  Nectria   cinnabarina  : 
F.  section  of  stroraa ;  G.  asoua  and  paraphyses. 

they  cannot  always,  or  often,  be  so  clearly  and  distinctly  traced 
as  in  the  illustration  which  we  have  selected. 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  the  conidia  of  the  SpTiceria  to  partake 
of  the  characteristics  of  a  mould,  and  then  the  perithecia  are 
developed  amongst  the  conidial  threads.  A  recently  recorded 
instance  of  this  relates  to  Sphceria  EpocJinii,  B.  and  Br.,*  the 
conidia  form  of  which  was  long  known  before  the  SpJueria 
related  to  it  was  discovered,  under  the  name  of  Epochnium, 
funrjorum.  The  Epochnium  forms  a  thin  stratum,  which  over- 
runs various  species  of  Corticium.  The  conidia  are  at  first  uni- 
septate.  The  perithecia  of  the  Spharia  are  at  first  pale  bottle- 
green,  crowded  in  the  centre  of  the  Epochnium,  then  black  green 
granulated,  sometimes  depressed  at  the  summit,  with  a  minute 
pore.  The  sporidia  are  strongly  constricted  in  the  centre,  at 
first  uniseptate,  with  two  nuclei  in  each  division. 

Another  Spharia  in  which  the  association  is  undoubted  is  the 

*  Berkeley  and  Broome,  in  "Annals  of  Natural  History"  (1866),  No.  1177, 
pl.  v.  6g.  36  j  Cooke,  "  Handbook,"  ii.  p.  866. 


196  FUNGI. 

Spliceria  aquila,  Fr.,*  which  is  almost  always  found  nestling  in  a 
woolly  brown  subiculum,  for  the  most  part  composed  of  barren 
brown  jointed  threads.  These  threads,  however,  produce,  under 
favourable  conditions,  mostly  before  the  perfection  of  the  peri- 
thecia,  minute  subglobose  conidia,  and  in  this  state  constitute 
what  formerly  bore  the  name  of  Sporotrichum  fuscum,  Link.,  but 
now  recognized  as  the  conidia  of  Splusria  aquila. 

In  Sph&ria  nidulans,  Schw.,  a  North  American  species,  we  have 
more  than  once  found  the  dark  brown  subiculum  bearing  large 
triseptate  conidia,  having  all  the  characters  of  the  genus  Helmin- 
tliosporlum.  In  SpJxzria  pilosa^  P.,  Messrs.  Berkeley  and  Broome 
have  observed  oblong  conidia,  rather  irregular  in  outline,  ter- 
minating the  hairs  of  the  perithecium.f  The  same  authors 
have  also  figured  the  curious  pentagonal  conidia  springing  from 
flexuous  threads  accompanying  Spli(£ria  felinci,  Fckl.,J  and  also 
the  threads  resembling  those  of  a  Cladotriclium  with  the  angular 
conidia  of  Spharia  citpulifera,  B.  and  Br.§  A  most  remarkable 
example  is  also  given  by  the  Brothers  Tulasne  in  Pleospora 
polytricha,  in  which  the  conidia-bearing  threads  not  only 
surround,  but  grow  upon  the  perithecia,  and  are  crowned  by 
fascicles  of  septate  conidia.  || 

Instances  of  this  kind  have  now  become  so  numerous  that 
only  a  few  can  be  cited  as  examples  of  the  rest.  It  is  not  at  all 
improbable  that  the  majority  of  what  are  now  classed  together 
as  species  under  the  genus  of  black  moulds,  Helminthosporium, 
will  at  some  not  very  distant  period  be  traced  as  the  conidia  of 
different  species  of  ascomycetous  fungi.  The  same  fate  may 
also  await  other  allied  genera,  but  until  this  association  is 
established,  they  must  keep  the  rank  and  position  which  has 
been  assigned  to  them. 

Another  form  of  dualism,  differing  somewhat   in   character 

*  Cooke,  "  Handbook,"  ii.  p.  853,  No.  2549  ;  specimens  in  Cooke's  "Fungi 
Britannic!  Exsiccati,"  No.  270. 

f  Berk,  and  Br.  "Ann.  Nat.  Hist."  (1865),  No.  1096. 

J  "Ann.  Nat.  Hist."  (1871),  No.  1332,  pi.  xx.  fig.  23. 

§  Ibid.  No.  1333,  pi.  xxi.  fig.  24. 

II  Tulasne,  "  Selecta  Fungorum  Carpologia,"  ii.  p.  269,  pi.  29. 


POLYMORPHISM.  197 

from  the  foregoing,  finds  illustration  in  the  sphseriaceous  genus 
Melanconis,  of  Tulasne,  in  which  the  free  spores  are  still  called 
conidia,  though  in  most  instances  produced  in  a  sort  of  spurious 
conceptaculum,  or  borne  on  short  threads  from  a  kind  of 
cushion-shaped  stroma.  In  the  Melanconis  stilbostoma,*  there 
are  three  forms,  one  of  slender  minute  bodies,  oozing  out  in  the 
form  of  yellow  tendrils,  which  may  be  sperraatia,  formerly  called 
Ncmaspora  crocea.  Then  there  are  the  oval  brown  or  olive  brown 
conidia,  which  are  at  first  covered,  then  oozing  out  in  a  black 
pasty  mass,  formerly  Melanconium  bicolor,  and  finally  the  sporidia 
in  asci  of  Splicer ia  stilbostoma,  Fries.  In  Melanconis  Berkeleii, 
Tul.,  the  conidia  are  quadrilocular,  previously  known  as  Stilbo- 
spora  macrosperma,  B.  and  Br.  In  a  closely-allied  species  from 
North  America,  Mclanconis  bicornis,  Cooke,  the  appendiculate 
sporidia  are  similar,  and  the  conidia  would  also  appear  to  partake 
of  the  character  of  Stilbospora.  We  may  remark  here  that  we 
have  seen  a  brown  mould,  probably  an  undescribed  species  of 
Dematiei,  growing  in  definite  patches  around  the  openings  in 
birch  bark  caused  by  the  erumpent  ostiola  of  the  perithecia  of 
Mclanconis  stilbostoma,  from  the  United  States. 

In  Melanconis  lanciformis ,f  Tul.,  there  are,  it  would  appear, 
four  forms  of  fruit.  One  of  these  consists  of  conidia,  charac- 
terized by  Corda  as  Coryneum  discifGrme.%  Stylospores,  which 
are  also  figured  by  Corda  under  the  name  of  Coniothecium  betu- 
linum  ;  pycnidia,§  first  discovered  by  Berkeley  and  Broome,  and 
named  by  them  Hendersonia  polycystis  ;  \\  and  the  ascophorous 
fruits  which  constituted  the  Sphaeria  lanciformis  of  Fries.  Mr. 
Currey  indicated  Hendersonia  polycystis,  B.  and  Br.,  as  a  form 
of  fruit  of  this  species  in  a  communication  to  the  Royal  Society 
in  1857. ^[  lie  says  this  plant  grows  upon  birch,  and  is  in  per- 
fection in  very  moist  weather,  when  it  may  be  recognized  by  the 

*  Cooke,  "Handbook,"  ii.  p.  873;  Tulasne,  "  Carpologia,"  ii.  p.  120, 
plate  14. 

f  Tula-site,  "Sebcta  Fung.  Carp.,"  ii.  plate  16. 

£  Corda,  "  Icones  Futigorum,"  vol.  iii.  fig.  91. 

§  Corda,  "Icones,"  vol.  i.  fig.  25. 

||   Berk,  and  Br.  "  Aim.  Nat.  Hist."  No.  415. 

IT  Currey,  in  "Philosoph.  Trans.  Roy.  Soc."  (1857),  pi.  25. 


198  FUNGI. 

large  black  soft  gelatinous  protuberances  on  the  bark,  formed 
by  spores  escaping  and  depositing  themselves  upon  and  about 
the  apex  of  the  perithecium.  This  I  suspect  to  be  an  abnormal 
state  of  a  well-known  Sphosria  (>S>.  lanciformis^  which  grows 
upon  birch,  and  upon  birch  only. 

We  might  multiply,  almost  indefinitely,  instances  amongst  the 
Sphceriacei,  but  have  already  given  sufficient  for  illustration,  and 
will  therefore  proceed  briefly  to  notice  some  instances  amongst 
the  Discomycetes,  which  also  bear  their  complete  or  perfect  fruit 
in  asci. 

The  beautiful  purple  stipitate  cups  of  Bulgaria  sarcoides, 
which  may  be  seen  flourishing  in  the  autumn  on  old  rotten 
wood,  are  often  accompanied  by  club-shaped  bodies  of  the  same 
colour;  or  earlier  in  the  season  these  clavate  bodies  may  be 
found  alone,  and  at  one  time  bore  the  name  of  Tremella 
sarcoides.  The  upper  part  of  these  clubs  disseminate  a  great 
abundance  of  straight  and  very  slender  spermatia.  Earlier  than 
this  they  are  covered  with  globose  conidia.  The  fully-matured 
Bulgaria  develops  on  its  hymenium  clavate  delicate  asci,  each 
enclosing  eight  elongated  hyaline  sporidia,  so  that  we  have  three 
forms  of  fruit  belonging  to  the  same  fungus,  viz.  conidia  and 
spermatia  in  the  Tremella  stage,  and  sporidia  contained  in  asci 
in  the  mature  condition.*  The  same  phenomena  occur  with 
Bulgaria  purpurea,  a  larger  species  with  different  fruit,  long 
confounded  with  Bulgaria  sarcoides. 

On  the  dead  stems  of  nettles  it  is  very  common  to  meet  with 
small  orange  tubercles,  not  much  larger  than  a  pin's  head, 
which  yield  at  this  stage  a  profusion  of  slender  linear  bodies, 
produced  on  delicate  branched  threads,  and  at  one  time  bore  the 
name  of  Dacrymyces  ITrticce,  but  which  are  now  acknowledged  to 
be  only  a  condition  of  a  little  tremelloid  Peziza  of  the  same  size 
and  colour,  which  might  be  mistaken  for  it,  if  not  examined 
with  the  microscope,  but  in  which  there  are  distinct  asci  and 
sporidia.  Both  forms  together  are  now  regarded  as  the  same 
fungus,  under  the'  name  of  Peziza  fusarioides,  B. 

*  Tulasne,  "  On  the  Reproductive  Apparatus  of  Fungi,"  in  "ComptesRendus" 
(1852),  p.  841  ;  and  Tulasne,  "  Selecta  Fungorum  Carpologia,"  vol.  iii. 


POLYMORPHISM.  199 

The  other  series  of  phenomena  grouped  together  under  the 
name  of  polymorphism  relate  to  forms  which  are  removed  from 
each  other,  so  that  the  mycelium  is  not  identical,  or,  more 
usually,  produced  on  different  plants.  The  first  instance  of  this 
kind  to  which  we  shall  make  reference  is  one  of  particular 
interest,  as  illustrative  of  the  old  popular  creed,  that  berberry 
bushes  near  corn-fields  produced  mildewed  corn.  There  is  a 
village  in  Norfolk,  not  far  from  Great  Yarmouth,  called  "  Mil- 
dew Bollesby,"  because  of  its  unenviable  notoriety  in  days  past 
for  mildewed  corn,  produced,  it  was  said,  by  the  berberry 
bushes,  which  were  cut  down,  and  then  mildew  disappeared 
from  the  corn-fields,  so  that  Bollesby  no  longer  merited  its 
sobriquet.  It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  corn-mildew 
(Puccinia  graminis)  is  dimorphous,  having  a  one-celled  fruit 
(Trichobasis),  as  well  as  a  two-celled  fruit  (Puccinia).  The 
fungus  which  attacks  the  berberry  is  a  species  of  cluster-cup 
{Mcidium  berbcridis),  in  which  little  cup-like  peridia,  containing 
bright  orange  pseudospores,  are  produced  in  tufts  or  clusters  on 
the  green  leaves,  together  with  their  spermogonia. 

De  Bary's  observations  on  this  association  of  forms  were  pub- 
lished in  1865.*  In  view  of  the  popular  belief,  he  determined 
to  sow  the  spores  of  Puccinia  graminis  on  the  leaves  of  the  ber- 
berry. For  this  purpose  he  selected  the  septate  resting  spores  from 
Poapratensis  and  Triticum  repens.  Having  caused  the  spores  to 
germinate  in  a  moist  atmosphere,  he  placed  fragments  of  the 
leaves  on  which  they  had  developed  their  secondary  spores  on 
young  but  full-grown  berberry  leaves,  under  the  same  atmo- 
spheric conditions.  In  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours 
a  quantity  of  the  germinating  threads  had  bored  through  the 
walls  and  penetrated  amongst  the  subjacent  cells.  This  took 
place  both  on  the  upper  and  under  surface  of  the  leaves.  Since, 
in  former  experiments,  it  appeared  that  the  spores  would 
penetrate  only  in  those  cases  where  the  plant  was  adapted  to 
develop  the  parasite,  the  connection  between  P.  graminis  and 

*  "  Monatsbericht  der  Koniglichen  Preuss,  Aead.  der  Wissenschaften  an 
Berlin,"  Jan.  1865  ;  Summary,  in  "  Journ.  Roy.  Hort.  Soc.,  London,"  vol.  i. 
n.s.  p.  107. 


200  FUNGI. 


id.  berberidis  seemed  more  than  ever  probable.  In  about  ten 
days  the  spermogonia  appeared.  After  a  time  the  cut  leaves 
began  to  decay,  so  that  the  fungus  never  got  beyond  the 
spermogonoid  stage.  Some  three-year-old  seedlings  were  then 
taken,  and  the  germinating  resting  spores  applied  as  before. 
The  plants  were  kept  under  a  bell-glass  from  twenty-four  to 
forty-eight  hours,  and  then  exposed  to  the  air  like  other  plants. 
From  the  sixth  to  the  tenth  day,  yellow  spots  appeared,  with 
single  spermogonia  ;  from  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth,  spermogonia 
appeared  in  numbers  on  either  surface  ;  and,  a  few  days  later, 
on  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves,  the  cylindrical  sporangia 
of  the  Mcidium  made  their  appearance,  exactly  as  in  the 
normally  developed  parasite,  except  that  they  were  longer, 
from  being  protected  from  external  agents.  The  younger  the 
leaves,  the  more  rapid  was  the  development  of  the  parasite,  and 
sometimes,  in  the  younger  leaves,"the  luxuriance  was  far  greater 
than  in  free  nature.  Similar  plants,  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred,  were  observed  in  the  nursery,  and  though  some  of  them 
had  Mcidium  pustules,  not  one  fresh  pustule  was  produced  ; 
while  two  placed  under  similar  circumstances,  but  without  the 
application  of  any  resting  spores,  remained  all  the  summer  free 
from  JEcidium.  It  seems,  then,  indubitable  so  far  that  ^Ecidium 
berberidis  does  spring  from  the  spores  of  Puccinia  graminis. 

It  has,  however,  to  be  remarked  that  De  Bary  was  not  equally 
successful  in  producing  the  Puccinia  from  the  spores  of  the 
jKcidium.  In  many  cases  the  spores  do  not  germinate  when 
placed  on  glass,  and  they  do  not  preserve  their  power  of  germi- 
nating very  long.  He  reverts  then  to  the  evidence  of  experi- 
ments instituted  by  agriculturists.  Bonninghausen  remarked,  in 
1818,  that  wheat,  rye,  and  barley  which  were  sown  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  berberry  bush  covered  with  JEcidium  contracted 
rust  immediately  after  the  maturation  of  the  spores  of  the  JEcidia. 
The  rust  was  most  abundant  where  the  wind  carried  the  spores. 
The  following  year,  the  same  observations  were  repeated  ;  the 
spores  of  the  Mcidium  were  collected,  and  applied  to  some  healthy- 
plants  of  rye.  After  five  or  six  days  these  plants  were  affected 
with  rust,  while  the  remainder  of  the  crop  was  sound.  In  1863 


POLYMORPHISM. 


201 


some  winter  rye  was  sown  round  a  berberry  bush,  which  in  the 
following  year  was  infested  with  Mcidium,  which  was  mature  in 
the  middle  of  May,  when  the  rye  was  completely  covered  with 
rust.  Of  the  wild  grasses  near  the  bush,  Triticum  repens  was 
most  affected.  The  distant  plants  of  rye  were  free  from  rust. 

The  spores  of  the  JEcidium  would  not  germinate  on  berberry 
leaves  ;  the  berberry  JEcidium  could  not  therefore  spring  from 
the  previous  JEcidium.  The  uredospores  of  Puccinia  graminis 
on  germinating  penetrate  into  the  parenchym  of  the  grass  on 
which  they  are  sown ;  but  on  berberry  leaves,  if  the  tips  of  the 
threads  enter  for  a  short  distance  into  the  stomates  their  growth 
at  once  ceases,  and  the  leaves  remain  free  from  parasites. 


FIG.  107. — Cells  and  pseudospores  of  JEcidium  berberidis. 

Montagne  has,   however,  described   a  Puccinia  berberidis  on 
leaves  of  Berberis  glauca  from  Chili,  which  grows  in  company 


FIG.  108.— Cells  and  psoudospores  of  2Ecidium  graveolens. 

with  JEcidium  berberidis.  This  at  first  sight  seems  to  contradict 
the  above  conclusions ;  but  the  JEcidium  which  from  the  same 
disc  produces  the  puccinoid  resting  spores,  appears  to  be  dif- 
ferent from  the  European  species,  inasmuch  as  the  cells  of  the 
wall  of  the  sporangium  are  twice  as  large,  and  the  spores  de- 
cidedly of  greater  diameter.*  The  resting  spores,  moreover, 
*  We  have  before  us  an  sficidium  on  leaves  of  Herberts  vulgar  is,  collected  at 


202  FUNGI. 

differ  not  only  from  those  of  Puccinia  graminis,  but  from  those 
of  all  other  European  species. 

From  this  account,  then,  it  is  extremely  probable  that  the 
Mcidium  of  the  berberry  enters,  into  the  cycle  of  existence  of 
Puccinia,  graminis,  and,  if  this  be  true,  wherefore  should  not 
other  species  of  Puccinia  be  related  in  like  manner  to  other 
JEtddia  ?  This  is  the  conclusion  to  which  many  have  arrived, 
and,  taking  advantage  of  certain  presumptions,  have,  we  fear, 
rashly  associated  many  such  forms  together  without  substantial 
evidence.  On  the  leaves  of  the  primrose  we  have  commonly  a 
species  of  ^Ecidium,  Puccinia,  and  Uromyces  nearly  at  the  same 
time ;  we  may  imagine  that  all  these  belong  to  one  cycle,  but 
it  has  not  yet  been  proved.  Again,  Uromyces  cacalice,  linger, 
TJredo  cacalice,  linger,  and  JEcidium  cacalia,  Thumen,  are  con- 
sidered by  Heufler  *  to  form  one  cycle.  Numerous  others  are 
given  by  Fuckel,t  and  De  Bary,  in  the  same  memoir  from  which 
we  have  already  cited,  notes  Uromyces  appendiculatus.  Link., 
U.  phaseolorum,  Tul.,  and  Puccinia  tragopogonis,  Ca.,  as  possessing 
five  kinds  of  reproductive  organs.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year, 
shortly  stipitate  spores  appear  on  their  stroma,  which  do  not  fall 
off.  These  spores,  which  do  not  germinate  till  after  a  shorter  or 
longer  winter  rest,  may  conveniently  be  called  resting  spores,  or, 
as  De  Bary  calls  them,  teleutospores,  being  the  last  which  are 
produced.  These  at  length  germinate,  become  articulated,  and 
produce  ovate  or  kidney-shaped  spores,  which  in  their  turn 
germinate,  penetrating  the  cuticle  of  the  mother  plant,  avoiding 
the  stomates  or  apertures  by  which  it  breathes.  After  about 
two  or  three  weeks,  the  mycelium,  which  has  ramified  among  the 

Berne  by  Shuttleworth  in  1833.  It  is  named  by  him  ^Ecidium  graveolens,  and 
differs  in  the  following  particulars  from  jficidium  berberidis.  The  peridia  are 
scattered  as  in  JR.  Epilobii,  and  not  collected  in  clusters.  They  are  not  so 
much  elongated.  The  cells  are  larger,  and  the  orange  spores  nearly  twice  the 
diameter.  There  is  a  decided,  strong,  but  unpleasant  odour  in  the  fresh  plant  ; 
hence  the  name.  The  above  figures  (figs.  107,  108).  of  the  cells  and  spores  of 
both  species  are  drawn  by  camera  lucida  to  the  same  scale — 380  diameters. 

*  Freiherrn  von  Hohenbiihel-Heufler,  in  "CEsterr.  Botan.  Zeitschrift," 
No.  3,  1870. 

t  Fuckel,  "Symbolse  Mycologies ' '  (1869),  p.  49. 


POLYMORPHISM.  203 

tissues,  produces  an  JEciJium,  with  its  constant  companion,  sper- 
mogonia — distinct  cysts,  that  is,  from  which  a  quantity  of  minute 
bodies  ooze  out,  often  in  the  form  of  a  tendril,  the  function  of 
which  is  imperfectly  known  at  present,  but  which  from  analogy 
we  regard  as  a  form  of  fruit,  though  it  is  just  possible  that  they 
may  be  rather  of  the  nature  of  spermatozoids.  The  JEcidia 
contain,  within  a  cellular  membranous  sac,  a  fructifying  disc, 
which  produces  necklaces  of  spores,  which  ultimately  separate 
from  each  other  in  the  form  of  a  granular  powder.  The  grains 
of  which  it  is  composed  germinate  in  their  turn,  no  longer 
avoiding  the  stomates  as  before,  but  penetrating  through  their 
aperture  into  the  parenchym.  The  new  resultant  mycelium 
reproduces  the  Uredo,  or  fifth  form  of  fructification,  and  the 
Uredo  spores  fall  off  like  those  of  the  JEcidium,  and  in  respect 
of  germination,  and  mode  of  penetration,  present  precisely  the 
same  phenomena.  The  disc  which  has  produced  the  Uredo 
spores  now  gives  rise  to  the  resting  spores,  and  so  the  cycle  is 
complete.* 

The  late  Professor  CErsted,  of  Copenhagen,  was  of  opinion 
that  he  had  demonstrated  the  polymorphy  of  the  Tremelloid 
Uredines,  and  satisfied  himself  that  the  one  condition  known  as 
Podisoma  was  but  another  stage  of  Rcestelia.f  Some  freshly 
gathered  specimens  of  Gymnosporanqium  were  damped  with 
water,  and  during  the  night  following  the  spores  germinated 
profusely,  so  that  the  teleutospores  formed  an  orange-coloured 
powder.  A  little  of  this  powder  was  placed  on  the  leaves  of 
five  small  sorbs,  which  were  damped  and  placed  under  bell- 
glasses.  In  five  days  yellow  spots  were  seen  on  the  leaves,  and 
in  two  days-  more  indications  of  spermogonia.  The  spermatia 
were  discharged,  and  in  two  months  from  the  first  sowing, 

*  Almost  simultaneously  with  De  Bary,  the  late  Professor  CErsted  instituted 
experiments,  from  which  the  same  results  ensued,  as  to  jKcidiam,  berberidis  and 
Puccinia  graminis.  See  "Journ.  Hort.  Soc.  Lond."  new  ser.  i.  p  85. 

t  "Oversigt  over  det  Kon.  Danske  Videos.  Selskabs"  (1866),  p.  185,  t.  3,  4; 
(1867,)  p.  208,  t.  3,  4  ;  "  Resume  du  Bulletin  de  la  Soc.  Roy.  Danoise  des 
Sciences"  (1866),  p.  15  ;  (1867),  p.  38 ;  "  Botanische  Zeitung"  (1867),  p.  104  ; 
"  Qnekett  Microscopical  Club  Journal,"  vol.  ii.  p.  260. 


204  FUNGI. 

the  pcridia  of  £&*telia  appeared,  and  were  developed.  "  This 
trial  of  spores,"  says  CErsted,  "  has  conduced  to  the  result  ex- 
pected, and  proves  that  the  teleutospores  of  G-ymnosporangium, 
when  transported  upon  the  sorb,  give  rise  to  a  totally  different 
fungus,  the  Hccstelia  cornuta,  that  is  to  say,  that  an  alternate 
generation  comes  between  these  fungi.  They  appertain  in  con- 
sequence to  a  single  species,  and  the  Gymnosporangium  ceased  to 
be  an  independent  species,  and  must  be  considered  as  synony- 
mous with  the  first  generation  of  Roestelia.  The  spores  have 
been  transported  upon  young  shoots  of  the  juniper-tree,  and 
have  now  commenced  to  produce  some  mycelium  in  the  bark. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  in  next  spring  it  will  result  in  Gyrnno- 
sporangium," 

Subsequently  the  same  learned  professor  instituted  similar 
experiments  upon  other  hosts,  with  the  spores  of  Podisoma,  and 
from  thence  he  concluded  that  Rcestelia  and  Podisoma,  in  all 
their  known  species,  were  but  forms  the  one  of  the  other. 
Hitherto  we  are  not  aware  that  these  results  have  been  con- 
firmed, or  that  the  sowing  of  the  spores  of  Ttoestelia  on  juniper 
resulted  in  Podisoma.  Such  experiments  should  be  received 
always  with  care,  and  not  too  hastily  accepted  in  their  apparent 
results  as  proven  facts.  Who  shall  say  that  Rcestelia  would  not 
have  appeared  on  Sorbus  within  two  months  without  the  sowing 
of  Podisoma  spores? — because  it  is  not  by  any  means  uncommon 
for  that  fungus  to  appear  upon  that  plant.  It  is  true  many 
mycologists  write  and  speak  of  Roestelia  and  Podisoma  (or 
Gymnosporangium)  as  identical ;  but,  as  we  think,  without  the 
evidence  being  so  complete  as  to  be  beyond  suspicion.  It  is, 
nevertheless,  a  curious  fact  that  in  Europe  the  number  of  species 
of  Rcestelia  and  Podisoma  are  equal,  if  one  species  be  excluded, 
which  is  certainly  not  a  good  Podisoma,  for  the  reception  of 
which  a  new  genus  has  been  proposed.* 

Amongst  the  ascigerous  fungi  will  be  found  a  curious  but  inte- 
resting genus  formerly  called  Cordyceps,  but  for  which  Tulasne, 
in  consequence  of  the  discovery  of  secondary  forms  of  fruit, 

*  This  is  Podisoma  fuliicola,  B.  and  Br.,  or,  as  proposed  in  "Jotirn.  Quekett 
Club,"  ii.  p.  267,  Sarcos'roma  Berkeleyi,  C. 


POLYMORPHISM.  205 

has  substituted  that  of  Torrulia*  These  curious  fungi  partake 
more  or  less  of  a  clavate  form,  and  are  parasitic  on  insects. 
The  pupae  of  moths  are  sometimes  seen  bearing  upon  them  the 
white  branched  mould,  something  like  a  Clavaria  in  appearance, 
to  which  the  name  of  Isaria  farinosa  has  been  given.  According 
to  Tulasne,  this  is  the  conidia  form  of  the  bright  scarlet,  club- 
shaped  body  which  is  also  found  on  dead  pupas,  called  Torrubia 
militaris.  An  American  mould  of  the  same  genus,  Isaria 
sphingum,  found  on  mature  moths,f  is  in  like  manner  declared  to 
be  the  conidia  of  Torrubia  sphingum;  whereas  a  similar  mould, 
found  on  dead  spiders,  called  Isaria  araclmopliila^  is  probably 
of  a  similar  nature.  An  allied  kind  of  compact  mould,  which 
is  parasitic  on  Cocci,  on  the  bark  of  trees,  recently  found  in 
England  by  Mr.  C.  E.  Broome,  and  named  Microcera  coccopJiila^ 
is  said  by  Tulasne  to  be  a  condition  of  Splicer ostille,  and  it  is 
intimated  that  other  productions  of  a  similar  character  bear 
like  relations  to  other  sphoeriaceous  fungi.  For  many  species 
of  Torrubia  no  corresponding  conidia  are  yet  known. 

Some  instances  might  be  noted,  not  without  interest,  in 
which  the  facts  of  dimorphism  or  polymorphism  have  not  been 
satisfactorily  proved,  but  final  judgment  is  held  in  suspense 
until  suspicion  is  replaced  by  conviction.  Some  years  since,  a 
quantity  of  dead  box  leaves  were  collected,  on  which  flourished  at 
the  time  a  mould  named  Penicillium  roseum.  This  mould  has  a 
roseate  tint,  and  occurs  in  patches  on  the  dead  leaves  lying  upon 
the  ground ;  the  threads  are  erect  and  branched  above,  bearing 
chains  of  oblong,  somewhat  spindle-shaped  spores,  or,  perhaps 
more  accurately,  conidia.  When  collected,  these  leaves  were 
examined,  and  nothing  was  observed  or  noted  upon  them  except 
this  Penicillium.  After  some  time,  certainly  between  two  and 
three  years,  during  which  period  the  box  remained  undisturbed, 
circumstances  led  to  the  examination  again  of  one  or  two  of  the 
leaves,  and  afterwards  of  the  greater  number  of  them,  when  the 

*  Tulasne,  "  Selecta  Fungorum  Carpologia,"  iii.  p.  6,  pi.  i.  figs.  19-31. 
t  Cramer's  "  Papilio  Exotic"  (1782),  fig.  267. 
J  Cooke,  "  Handbook,"  p.  548,  No.  1639. 
§  Ibid.  p.  556,  No.  1666. 
10 


206  FUNGI. 

patches  of  Penicillium  were  found  to  be  intermixed  with  another 
mould  of  a  higher  development,  and  far  different  character. 
This  mould,  or  rather  Mucor,  consists  of  erect  branching 
threads,  many  of  the  branches  terminating  in  a  delicate  globose, 
glassy  head,  or  sporangium,  containing  numerous  very  minute 
subglobose  sporidia.  This  species  was  named  Mucor  liyalinus.* 
The  habit  is  very  much  like  that  of  the  Penicillium,  but  without 
any  roseate  tint.  It  is  almost  certain  that  the  Mucor  could  not 
have  been  present  when  the  Penicillium  was  examined,  and  the 
leaves  on  which  it  had  grown  were  enclosed  in  the  tin  box,  but 
that  the  Mucor  afterwards  appeared  on  the  same  leaves,  some- 
times from  the  same  patches,  and,  as  it  would  appear,  from  the 
same  mycelium.  The  great  difference  in  the  two  species  lies  in 
the  fructification.  In  the  Penicillium,  the  spores  are  naked,  and 
in  moniliform  threads  ;  whilst  in  Mucor  the  spores  are  enclosed 
within  globose  membraneous  heads  or  sporangia.  Scarcely  can 
we  doubt  that  the  Mucor  alluded  to  above,  found  thus  intermixed, 
under  peculiar  circumstances,  with  Penicillium  roseum,  is  no  other 
than  the  higher  and  more  complete  form  of  that  species,  and 
that  the  Penicillium  is  only  its  conidiiferous  state.  The  pre- 
sumption in  this  case  is  strong,  and  not  so  open  to  suspicion  as  it 
would  be  did  not  analogy  render  it  so  extremely  probable  that 
such  is  the  case,  apart  from  the  fact  of  both  forms  springing 
from  the  same  mass  of  mycelium.  In  such  minute  and  delicate 
structures  it  is  very  difficult  to  manipulate  the  specimens  so  as 
to  arrive  at  positive  evidence.  If  a  filament  of  mycelium  could 
be  isolated  successfully,  and  a  fertile  thread,  bearing  the  fruit  of 
each  form,  could  be  traced  from  the  same  individual  mycelium 
thread,  the  evidence  would  be  conclusive.  In  default  of  such 
conclusive  evidence,  we  are  compelled  to  rest  with  assumption 
until  further  researches  enable  us  to  record  the  assumption  as 
fact.f 

Apropos  of  this  very  connection  of  Penicillium  with  Mucor,  a 
similar  suspicion  attaches  to  an  instance  noted  by  a  wholly  dis- 

*  Specimens  were  published  under  this  name  in  Cooke's   "  Fungi  Britannici 
Exsiceati,"  No.  359. 

t  Cooke,  "On  Polymorphism  in  Fungi,"  in  "Popular  Science  Review." 


POLYMORPHISM.  207 

interested  observer  to  this  effect.  "  On  a  preparation  preserved 
in  a  moist  chamber,  on  the  third  day  a  white  speck  was  seen  on 
the  surface,  consisting  of  innumerable  '  yeast '  cells,  with  some 
filaments,  branching  in  all  directions.  On  the  fourth  day  tufts 
of  Penicillium  had  developed  two  varieties — P.  glaucum  and 
P.  mride.  This  continued  until  the  ninth  day,  when  a  few  of 
the  filaments  springing  up  in  the  midst  of  the  Penicillium  were 
tipped  with  a  dewdrop-like  dilatation,  excessively  delicate — a 
mere  distended  pellicle.  In  some  cases  they  seemed  to  be 
derived  from  the  same  filament  as  others  bearing  the  ordinary 
branching  spores  of  PeniclHium,  but  of  this  I  could  not  be 
positive.  This  kind  of  fructification  increased  rapidly,  and  on 
the  fourteenth  day  spores  had  undoubtedly  developed  within  the 
pellicle,  just  as  had  been  observed  in  a  previous  cultivation, 
precisely  similar  revolving  movements  being  also  manifested."* 
Although  we  have  here  another  instance  of  Mucor  and  Penicillium 
growing  in  contact,  the  evidence  is  insufficient  to  warrant  more 
than  a  suspicion  of  their  identity,  inasmuch  as  the  equally 
minute  spores  of  Mucor  and  Penicillium  might  have  mingled, 
and  each  producing  its  kind,  no  relationship  whatever  have 
existed  between  them,  except  their  development  from  the  same 
matrix. 

Another  case  of  association — for  the  evidence  does  not  proceed 
further — was  recorded  by  us,  in  which  a  dark-coloured  species 
of  Penicillium  was  closely  associated  with  what  we  now  believe 
to  be  a  species  of  Macrosporium — but  then  designated  a  Spo- 
ridesmium — and  a  minute  Sphaeria  growing  in  succession  on 
damp  wall-paper.  Association  is  all  that  the  facts  warrant  us 
in  calling  it. 

We  cannot  forbear  alluding  to  one  of  the  species  of  SpJiaria 
to  which  Tulasne  f  attributes  a  variety  of  forms  of  fruit,  and  we 
do  so  here  because  we  think  that  a  circumstance  so  extraordi- 
nary should  be  confirmed  before  it  is  accepted  as  absolutely  true. 
This  refers  to  the  common  Sphceria  found  on  herbaceous  plants, 

*  Lewis's  "Report  on  Microscopic  Objects  found  in  Cholera  Evacuations," 
Calcutta,  1870. 

t  Tulasne,  "Selecta  Fungorum  Carpologia,"  ii.  p.  261. 


208  FUNGI. 

known  as  Spharia  (Pleospora)  herbarium.  First  of  all  the  very 
common  mould  called  Cladosporium  herbarum  is  constituted  as 
conidia,  and  of  this  again  Macrosporium  sarcinula,  Berk.,  is  con- 
sidered to  be  another  condition.  In  the  next  place,  Cytispora 
orbicularis,  Berk.,  and  PJwma  herbarium,  West,  are  regarded  as 
pycnidia,  enclosing  stylospores.  Then  Alternaria  tenuis,  Pr.,* 
which  is  said  to  be  parasitic  on  Cladosporium  hcrlarum,  is  held 
to  be  only  a  form  of  that  species,  so  that  here  we  have  (including 
the  perithecia)  no  less  than  six  forms  or  phases  for  the  same 
fungus.  As  Macrosporium  Cheiranthi,  Pr.,  often  is  found  in 
company  with  Cladosporium  herbarum,  that  is  also  open  to 
suspicion. 

We  have  adduced  in  the  foregoing  pages  a  few  instances 
which  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  polymorphism  of  fungi. 
Some  of  these  it  will  be  observed  are  accepted  as  beyond  doubt, 
occurring  as  they  do  in  intimate  relationship  with  each  other. 
Others  are  considered  as  scarcely  so  well  established,  but 
probable,  although  developed  sometimes  on  different  species  of 
plants.  Finally,  some  are  regarded  as  hitherto  not  satisfactorily 
proved,  or,  it  may  be,  only  suspicious.  In  this  latter  group, 
however  much  probability  may  be  in  their  favour,  it  can  hardly 
be  deemed  philosophical  to  accept  them  on  such  slender  evidence 
as  in  some  cases  alone  is  afforded.  It  would  not  have  been 
difficult  to  have  extended  the  latter  group  considerably  by  the 
addition  of  instances  enumerated  by  various  mycologists  in 
their  works  without  any  explanation  of  the  data  upon  which 
their  conclusions  have  been  founded.  In  fact,  altogether  this 
chapter  mast  be  accepted  as  illustrative  and  suggestive^  but  by 
no  means  as  exhaustive. 

*  Corda,  "  Prachtflora,"  plate  vii. 


X. 

INFLUENCES   AND   EFFECTS. 

IT  is  no  longer  doubted  that  fungi  exercise  a  large  and  very 
important  influence  in  the  economy  of  nature.  It  may  be  that 
in  some  directions  these  influences  are  exaggerated  ;  but  it  is 
certain  that  on  the  whole  their  influence  is  far  more  important 
for  evil  and  for  good  than  that  of  any  other  of  the  Cryptogamia. 
In  our  endeavour  to  estimate  the  character  and  extent  of  these 
influences  it  will  prove  advantageous  to  examine  them  under 
three  sections.  1.  Their  influence  on  man.  2.  Their  influence 
on  lower  animals.  3.  Their  influence  on  vegetation.  Under 
these  sections  the  chief  facts  may  be  grouped,  and  some  approxi- 
mate idea  obtained  of  the  very  great  importance  of  this  family  of 
inferior  plants,  and  consequently  the  advisability  of  pursuing 
their  study  more  thoroughly  and  nationally  than  has  hitherto 
been  done. 

I.  In  estimating  the  influence  of  fungi  upon  man,  we  naturally 
enough  seek  in  the  first  instance  to  know  what  baneful  effects 
they  are  capable  of  producing  on  food.  Although  in  the  case  of 
"poisonous  fungi,"  popularly  understood,  fungi  may  be  the 
passive  agents,  yet  they  cannot  be  ignored  in  an  inquiry  of  this 
nature.  Writing  of  the  Uses  of  Fungi,  we  have  already  shown 
that  a  large  number  are  available  for  food,  and  some  of  these 
real  delicacies  ;  so,  on  the  other  hand,  it  becomes  imperative, 
even  with  stronger  emphasis,  to  declare  that  many  are  poisonous, 
and  some  of  them  virulently  so.  It  is  not  suSicient  to  say  that 
they  are  perfectly  harmless  until  voluntarily  introduced  into  the 
human  system,  whilst  it  is  well  known  that  accidents  are  always 


210  FUNGI. 

possible,  and  probably  would  be  if  every  baneful  fungus  had  tLe 
word  POISON  inscribed  in  capitals  on  its  pileus. 

The  inquiry  is  constantly  being  made  as  to  what  plain  rules 
can  be  given  for  distinguishing  poisonous  from  edible  fungi,  and 
we  can  answer  only  that  there  are  none  other  than  those  which 
apply  to  flowering  plants.  How  can  aconite,  henbane,  cenanthe, 
stramonium,  and  such  plants,  be  distinguished  from  parsley, 
sorrel,  watercress,  or  spinach  ?  Manifestly  not  by  any  general 
characters,  but  by  specific  differences.  And  so  it  is  with  the 
fungi.  We  must  learn  to  discriminate  Agaricus  muscarius  from 
Agaricus  rubescens,  in  the  same  manner  as  we  would  discriminate 
parsley  from  ^thusa  cynapium.  Indeed,  fungi  have  an  advantage 
in  this  respect,  since  one  or  two  general  cautions  can  be  given, 
when  none  such  are  applicable  for  higher  plants.  For  instance, 
it  may  be  said  truly  that  all  fungi  that  exhibit  a  rapid  change 
to  blue  when  bruised  or  broken  should  be  avoided;  that  all 
Agarics  are  open  to  suspicion  which  possess  an  acrid  taste  ;  that 
fungi  found  growing  on  wood  should  not  be  eaten  unless  the 
species  is  well  known ;  that  no  species  of  edible  fungus  has  a 
strong,  unpleasant  odour,  and  similar  cautions,  which,  after  all, 
are  insufficient.  The  only  safe  guide  lies  in  mastering,  one  by 
one,  the  specific  distinctions,  and  increasing  the  number  of  one's 
own  esculents  gradually,  by  dint  of  knowledge  and  experience, 
even  as  a  child  learns  to  distinguish  a  filbert  from  an  acorn,  or 
with  wider  experience  will  thrust  in  his  mouth  a  leaf  of  Oxalis 
and  reject  that  of  the  white  clover. 

One  of  the  most  deleterious  of  fungi  that  we  possess  is  at  the 
same  time  one  of  the  most  beautiful.  This  is  the  Agaricus 
muscarius,  or  Fly  Agaric,  which  is  sometimes  used  as  a  fly 
poison.*  It  has  a  bright  crimson  pileus  studded  with  pale 
whitish  (sometimes  yellowish)  warts,  and  a  stem  and  gills  of 
ivory  whiteness.  Many  instances  have  been  recorded  of  poison- 
ing by  this  fungus,  and  amongst  them  some  British  soldiers 
abroad,  and  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  this  fungus  is  eaten  in 

*  A  detailed  account  of  the  peculiar  properties  of  this  fungus  and  its  employ- 
ment as  a  narcotic  will  be  found  in  Cooke's  "Seven  Sisters  of  Sleep,"  p.  337. 
It  is  figured  in  Greville's  "Scottish  Cryptogamic  Flora,"  plate  54. 


INFLUENCES    AND   EFFECTS.  211 

Russia.  Two  instances  have  come  under  our  notice  of  persons 
with  some  botanical  knowledge,  and  one  a  gardener,  who  Ihad 
resided  in  Russia  and  eaten  of  this  fungus.  In  one  case  the  Fly 
Agaric  was  collected  and  shown  to.  us,  and  in  the  other  the 
figure  was  indicated,  so  that  we  might  be  under  no  doubt  as  to 
the  species.  Only  one  hypothesis  can  be  advanced  in  explana- 
tion. It  is  known  that  a  large  number  of  fungi  are  eaten  in 
Russia,  and  that  they  enter  much  into  the  domestic  cookery  of 
the  peasantry,  but  it  is  also  known  that  they  pay  considerable 
attention  to  the  mode  of  cooking,  and  add  a  large  amount  of  salt 
and  vinegar,  both  of  which,  with  long  boiling,  must  be  powerful 
agents  in  counteracting  the  poison  (probably  somewhat  volatile) 
of  such  fungi  as  the  Fly  Agaric.  In  this  place  we  may  give  a 
recipe  published  by  a  French  author  of  a  process  for  rendering 
poisonous  fungi  edible.  It  must  be  taken  on  his  authority,  and 
not  our  own,  as  we  have  never  made  the  experiment,  notwith- 
standing it  seems  somewhat  feasible  : — For  each  pound  of  mush- 
rooms, cut  into  moderately  small  pieces,  take  a  quart  of  water 
acidulated  with  two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  vinegar,  or  two  spoon- 
fuls of  bay  salt.  Leave  the  mushrooms  to  macerate  in  the  liquid 
for  two  hours,  then  wash  them  with  plenty  of  water ;  this  done, 
put  them  in  cold  water  and  make  them  boil.  After  a  quarter  or 
half  hour's  boiling  take  them  off  and  wash  them,  then  drain,  and 
prepare  them  either  as  a  special  dish,  or  use  them  for  seasoning 
in  the  same  manner  as  other  species.* 

This  method  is  said  to  have  been  tried  successfully  with  some 
of  the  most  dangerous  kinds.  Of  these  may  be  mentioned  the 
emetic  mushroom,  Russula  emetica,  with  a  bright  red  pileus  and 

*  Pour  chaque  500  grammes  de  champignons  coupes  en  morceaux  d'assez 
mediocre  grandeur,  il  faut  tin  litre  d'eau  acidulee  par  deux  on  trois  cuillere'es  de 
vinaigre,  ou  deux  cuillerees  de  sel  gris.  Dans  le  cas  ou  Ton  n'aurait  que  de  1'eau 
&  sa  disposition,  il  faut  la  renouveler  une  ou  deux  fois.  On  laisse  les  cham- 
pignons macerer  dans  le  liquide  pendant  deux  heures  entieres,  puis  on  les  lave  d, 
grande  eau.  Us  sont  alors  mis  dans  de  1'eau  froide  qu'on  porte  &  1' ebullition,  et 
apres  un  quart  d'heure  ou  une  demi-heure,  on  les  retire,  on  les  lave,  on  les 
essuie,  et  ou  les  appr6te  soit  comme  un  mets  special,  et  ils  comportent  les 
memes  assaisonnements  que  les  autres,  soit  comme  condiment.— Morel  I'raitt 
des  Champignons,  p.  lix.  Paris,  1865. 


212  FUNGI. 

white  gills,  which  has  a  clear,  waxy,  tempting  appearance,  but 
which  is  so  virulent  that  a  small  portion  is  sufficient  to  produce 
disagreeable  consequences.  It  would  be  safer  to  eschew  all  fungi 
with  a  red  or  crimson  pileus  than  to  run  the  risk  of  indulging  in 
this.  A  white  species,  which,  however,  is  not  very  common, 
with  a  bulbous  base  enclosed  in  a  volva,  called  Agaricus  vernus, 
should  also  be  avoided.  The  pink  spored  species  should  also  be 
regarded  with  suspicion.  Of  the  Boleti  several  turn  blue  when 
cut  or  broken,  and  these  again  require  to  be  discarded.  This  is 
especially  the  case  with  Boletus  luridus*  and  Boletus  Satanas^ 
two  species  which  have  the  under  surface  or  orifice  of  the  pores 
of  a  vermilion  or  blood-red  colour. 

Not  only  are  species  which  are  known  to  be  poisonous  to  be 
avoided,  but  discretion  should  be  used  in  eating  recognized  good 
species.  Fungi  undergo  chemical  changes  so  rapidly  that  even 
the  cultivated  mushroom  may  cause  inconvenience  if  kept  so 
long  after  being  gathered  as  to  undergo  chemical  change.  It  is 
not  enough  that  they  should  be  of  a  good  kind,  but  also  fresh. 
The  employment  of  plenty  of  salt  in  their  preparation  is  calcu- 
lated very  much  to  neutralize  any  deleterious  property.  Salt, 
pepper,  and  vinegar  are  much  more  freely  employed  abroad  in 
preparing  fungi  than  with  us,  and  with  manifest  advantage. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  fungi  exert  an  important  influence 
in  skin  diseases.  This  seems  to  be  admitted  on  all  hands  by 
medical  men,J  however  much  they  may  differ  on  the  question  of 
the  extent  to  which  they  are  the  cause  or  consequence  of  disease. 
Facts  generally  seem  to  bear  out  the  opinion  that  a  great  number 
of  skin  diseases  are  aggravated,  and  even  produced,  by  fungi. 
Robin  §  insists  that  a  peculiar  soil  is  necessary,  and  Dr.  Fox 
says  it  is  usually  taught  that  tuberculous,  scrofulous,  and  dirty 
people  furnish  the  best  nidus.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  enu- 

*  Smith's  "  Chart  of  Poisonous  Fungi,"  fig.  10. 

t  Ibid.  fig.  27.     It  would  be  well  to  become  acquainted  with  all  these  figures. 

J  "  Skin  Diseases  of  Parasitic  Origin,"  by  Dr.  Tilbury  Fox.     London,  1863. 

§  Robin,  "  Hist.  Nat.  des  Vegetaux  Parasites."  Paris,  1853.  Kuchenmeister, 
"  Animal  and  Vegetable  Parasites  of  the  Human  Body."  London,  Sydenham 
Society,  1857. 


INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS.  213 

merate  all  these  diseases,  with  which  medical  men  are  familiar, 
but  simply  to  indicate  a  few.  There  is  favus  or  scall-head, 
called  also  "porrigo,"  which  has  its  primary  seat  in  the  hair 
follicles.  Plica  polonica,  which  is  endemic  in  Russia,  is  almost 
cosmopolitan.  Then  there  is  Tinea  tonsurans,  Alopecia, 
Sycosis,  &c.,  and  in  India  a  more  deeply-seated  disease,  the 
Madura  Foot,  has  been  traced  to  the  ravages  of  a  fungus 
described  under  the  name  of  Chionyphe  Carteri.*  It  is  probable 
that  the  application  of  different  names  to  the  very  often  im- 
perfect forms  of  fungi  which  are  associated  with  different 
diseases  is  not  scientifically  tenable.  Perhaps  one  or  two 
common  moulds,  such  as  Aspergillus  or  Penicillium,  lie  at  the 
base  of  the  majority,  but  this  is  of  little  importance  here,  and 
does  not  affect  the  general  principle  that  some  skin  diseases  are 
due  to  fungi. 

Whilst  admitting  that  there  are  such  diseases,  it  must  be 
understood  that  diseases  have  been  attributed  to  fungi  as  a 
primary  cause,  when  the  evidence  does  not  warrant  such  a 
conclusion.  Diphtheria  and  thrush  have  been  referred  to  the 
devastations  of  fungi,  whereas  diphtheria  certainly  may  and 
does  occur  without  any  trace  of  fungi.  Fevers  may  some- 
times be  accompanied  by  fungoid  bodies  in  the  evacuations, 
but  it  is  very  difficult  to  determine  them.  The  whole 
question  of  epidemic  diseases  being  caused  by  the  presence 
of  fungi  seems  based  on  most  incomplete  evidence.  Dr. 
Salisbury  was  of  opinion  that  camp  measles  was  produced  by 
Puccinia  graminis,  the  pseudospores  of  which  germinated  in 
the  damp  straw,  disseminated  the  resultant  secondary  bodies  in 
the  air,  and  caused  the  disease.  This  has  never  been  verified. 
Measles,  too,  has  been  attributed  freely,  as  well  as  scarlatina, t 
to  fungal  influences,  and  the  endeavours  to  implicate  fungi  in 
being  the  cause  of  cholera  have  been  pertinaciously  persevered 
in  with  no  conviction.  The  presence  of  certain  cysts,  said  to 
be  those  of  Urocystis,  derived  from  rice,  was  announced  by  Dr. 

*  Berkeley,    in    "Intellectual   Observer,"    Nov.,    1862.     "Mycetoma,"    II. 
Vandyke  Carter,  1874. 
t  Hallier  and  Zurn,  "  Zeitschrif t  fur  Parasitenkuude."     Jena,  1869-71. 


214  FUNGI. 

Hallier,  but  when  it  was  shown  that  no  such  fungus  was  found 
on  rice,  this  phase  of  the  theory  collapsed.  Special  and  compe- 
tent experts  were  sent  from  this  country  to  examine  the  prepara- 
tions and  hear  the  explanations  of  Dr.  Hallier  on  his  theory  of 
cholera  contagion,  but  they  were  neither  convinced  nor  satisfied. 

As  long  ago  as  1853,  Dr.  Lauder  Lindsay  examined  and 
reported  on  cholera  evacuations,  and  in  1856  he  declared — "  It 
will  be  evident  that  I  can  see  no  satisfactory  groundwork  for 
the  fungus  theory  of  cholera,  which  I  am  not  a  little  surprised 
to  find  still  possesses  powerful  advocates."  *  And  of  the  exam- 
inations undertaken  by  him  he  writes  : — "  The  mycelium  and 
sporules  of  various  species  of  fungi,  constituting  various  forms 
of  vegetable  mould,  were  found  in  the  scum  of  the  vomit,  as 
well  as  of  the  stools,  but  only  at  some  stage  of  decomposition. 
They  are  found,  however,  under  similar  circumstances,  in  the 
vomit  and  stools  of  other  diseases,  and,  indeed,  in  all  decom- 
posing animal  fluids,  and  they  are  therefore  far  from  peculiar  to 
cholera." 

Some  writers  have  held  that  the  atmosphere  is  often  highly 
charged  with  fungi  spores,  others  have  denied  the  presence  of 
organic  bodies  to  any  extent  in  the  air.  The  experiments  con- 
ducted in  India  by  Dr.  Cunningham  f  have  been  convincing 
enough  on  this  point.  This  report  states  that  spores  and  similar 
cells  were  of  constant  occurrence,  and  were  generally  present  in 
considerable  numbers.  That  the  majority  of  the  cells  were  living 
and  ready  to  undergo  development  on  meeting  with  suitable 
conditions  was  very  manifest,  as  in  those  cases  in  which  prepa- 
rations were  retained  under  observation  for  any  length  of  time, 
germination  rapidly  took  place  in  many  of  the  cells ;  indeed, 
many  spores  already  germinating  were  deposited  on  the  slides. 
In  few  instances  did  any  development  take  place  beyond  the 

*  Dr.  Lauder  Lindsay,  "On  Microscopical  and  Clinical  Characters  of  Cholera 
Evacuations,"  reprinted  from  "Edinburgh  Medical  Journal,"  February  md 
March,  1856  ;  also  "Clinical  Notes  on  Cholera,"  by  W.  Lauder  Lindsay,  M.D., 
F.L.S.,  in  "  Association  Medical  Journal"  for  April  14,  1854. 

f  "  Microscopic  Examinations  of  Air,''  from  the  "  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Sanitary  Commissioner,"  Calcutta,  1872. 


INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS.  215 

formation  of  mycelium  or  masses  of  toruloid  cells,  but  in 
one  or  two  distinct  sporules  were  developed  on  the  filaments 
arising  from  some  of  the  larger  septate  spores,  and  in  a  few 
others  Penicillium  and  Aspergillus  produced  their  characteristic 
heads  of  fructification. 

With  regard  to  the  precise  nature  of  the  spores  and  other 
cells  present  in  various  instances  little  can  be  said,  as,  unless 
their  development  were  to  be  carefully  followed  out  through  all 
its  stages,  it  is  impossible  to  refer  them  to  their  correct  species 
or  even  genera.  The  greater  number  of  them  are  apparently 
referable  to  the  old  orders  of  fungi — Sphceronemei,  Melanconei, 
Torulacei,  Dematiei,  and  Mucedines,  while  some  probably  be- 
longed to  the  Pucciniei  and  Cocsinacei.  Amongst  those  belonging 
to  the  Torulacei,  the  most  interesting  was  a  representative  of 
the  rare  genus  Tetraploa*  Distinct  green  algoid  cells  occurred 
in  some  specimens.  Then  follow  in  the  report  details  of  obser- 
vations made  on  the  rise  and  fall  of  diseases,  of  which  diarrhoea, 
dysentery,  cholera,  ague,  and  dengue  were  selected  and  compared 
with  the  increase  or  diminution  of  atmospheric  cells.  The  con- 
clusions arrived  at  are  :  — 

"  Spores  and  other  vegetable  cells  are  constantly  present  in 
atmospheric  dust,  and  usually  occur  in  considerable  numbers ; 
the  majority  of  them  are  living,  and  capable  of  growth  and 
development.  The  amount  of  them  present  in  the  air  appears 
to  bo  independent  of  conditions  of  velocity  and  direction  of  the 
wind,  and  their  number  is  not  diminished  by  moisture. 

**  No  connection  can  be  traced  between  the  numbers  of 
bacteria,  spores,  &c.,  present  in  the  air,  and  the  occurrence  of 
diarrhoea,  dysentery,  cholera,  ague,  or  dengue,  nor  between  the 
presence  or  abundance  of  any  special  form  or  forms  of  cells,  and 
the  prevalence  of  any  of  these  diseases. 

"  The  amount  of  inorganic  and  amorphous  particles  and  other 
debris  suspended  in  the  atmosphere  is  directly  dependent  on 
conditions  of  moisture  and  velocity  of  wind." 

This  report  is  accompanied  by  fourteen  large  and  well-executed 
plates,  each  containing  hundreds  of  figures  of  organic  bodies  col- 
lected from  the  air  between  February  and  September.  It  is  valu- 


216  FUNGI. 

able  both  for  its  evidence  as  to  the  number  and  character  of  the 
spores  in  the  air,  and  also  for  the  tables  showing  the  relation 
between  five  forms  of  disease,  and  their  fluctuations,  as  com- 
pared with  the  amount  of  spores  floating  in  the  atmosphere. 

We  are  fain  to  believe  that  we  have  represented  the  influence 
of  fungi  on  man  as  far  as  evidence  seems  to  warrant.  The 
presence  of  forms  of  mould  in  some  of  their  incipient  conditions 
in  different  diseased  parts  of  the  human  body,  externally  and 
internally,  may  be  admitted  without  the  assumption  that  they 
are  in  any  manner  the  cause  of  the  diseased  tissues,  except  in 
such  cases  as  we  have  indicated.  Hospital  gangrene  may  be 
alluded  to  in  this  connection,  and  it  is  possible  that  it  may  be 
due  to  some  fungus  allied  to  the  crimson  spots  (blood  rain) 
which  occur  on  decayed  vegetation  and  meat  in  an  incipient 
stage  of  decomposition.  This  fungus  was  at  one  time  regarded 
as  an  algal,  at  another  as  animal ;  but  it  is  much  more  probable 
that  it  is  a  low  condition  of  some  common  mould.  The  readiness 
with  which  the  spores  of  fungi  floating  in  the  atmosphere 
adhere  to  and  establish  themselves  on  all  putrid  or  corrupt  sub- 
stances is  manifest  in  the  experience  of  all  who  have  had  to  do 
with  the  dressing  of  wounds,  and  in  this  case  it  is  a  matter  of 
the  greatest  importance  that,  as  much  as  possible,  atmospherical 
contact  should  be  avoided. 

Recently  a  case  occurred  at  the  Botanic  Gardens  at  Edin- 
burgh which  was  somewhat  novel.  The  assistant  to  the  bota- 
nical professor  was  preparing  for  demonstration  some  dried 
specimens  of  a  large  puff-ball,  filled  with  the  dust-like  spores, 
which  he  accidentally  inhaled,  and  was  for  some  time  confined 
to  his  room  under  medical  attendance  from  the  irritation  they 
caused.  This  would  seem  to  prove  that  the  spores  of  some 
fungi  are  liable,  when  inhaled  in  large  quantities,  to  derange 
the  system  and  become  dangerous  ;  but  under  usual  and  natural 
conditions  such  spores  are  not  likely  to  be  present  in  the  atmo- 
sphere in  sufficient  quantity  to  cause  inconvenience.  In  the 
autumn  a  very  large  number  of  basidiospores  must  be  present 
in  the  atmosphere  of  woods,  and  yet  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  it  is  more  unhealthy  to  breathe  the  atmosphere  of 


INFLUENCES    AND   EFFECTS.  217 

a  wood  in  September  or  October  than  in  January  or  May. 
Dreadful  effects  are  said  to  be  produced  by  a  species  of  black 
rust  which  attacks  the  large  South  of  Europe  reed,  Arundo  donax. 
This  is  in  all  probability  the  same  species  with  that  which 
attacks  Arundo  phragmitis  in  this  country,  the  spores  of  which 
produce  violent  headaches  and  other  -disorders  amongst  the 
labourers  who  cut  the  reeds  for  thatching.  M.  Michel  states 
that  the  spores  from  the  parasite  on  Arundo  donax,  either  inhaled 
or  injected,  produce  violent  papular  eruption  on  the  face, 
attended  with  great  swelling,  and  a  variety  of  alarming  symp- 
toms which  it  is  unnecessary  to  particularize,  in  various  parts  of 
the  body.*  Perhaps  if  Sarcina  should  ultimately  prove  to  be  a 
fungus,  it  may  be  added  to  the  list  of  those  which  aggravate,  if 
they  are  not  the  primary  cause  of,  disease  in  the  human  subject. 
II.  What  influences  can  be  attributed  to  fungi  upon  animals 
other  than  man  ?  Clearly  instinct  preserves  animals  from  many 
dangers.  It  may  be  presumed  that  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances there  is  not  much  fear  of  a  cow  or  a  sheep  poisoning 
itself  in  a  pasture  or  a  wood.  But  under  extraordinary 
circumstances  it  is  not  only  possible,  but  very  probable,  that 
injuries  may  occur.  For  instance,  it  is  well  known  that  not 
only  rye  and  wheat,  but  also  many  of  the  grasses,  are  liable  to 
infection  from  a  peculiar  form  of  fungus  called  "  ergot."  In 
certain  seasons  this  ergot  is  much  more  common  than  others, 
and  the  belief  is  strong  in  those  who  ought  to  know  something 
of  the  subject  from  experience,  viz.,  farmers  and  graziers,  that  in 
such  seasons  it  is  not  uncommon  for  cattle  to  slip  their  young 
through  feeding  on  ergotized  grass.  Then,  again,  it  is  fairly 
open  to  inquiry  whether,  in  years  when  "red  rust"  and 
"mildew"  are  more  than  usually  plentiful  On  grasses,  these 
may  not  be  to  a  certain  extent  injurious.  Without  attempting 
to  associate  the  cattle  plague  in  any  way  with  fungi  on 
grass,  it  is  nevertheless  a  most  remarkable  coincidence  that 
the  year  in  which  the  cattle  disease  was  most  prevalent  in 
this  country  was  one  in  which  there  was— at  least  in  some 
districts — more  "red  rust"  on  grasses  than  we  ever  remem- 
*  "  Gardener's  Chronicle,"  March  26,  1864. 


218  FUNGI. 

her  to  have  seen  before  or  since;  the  clothes  of  a  person 
walking  through  the  rusty  field  soon  became  orange- coloured 
from  the  abundance  of  spores.  Graziers  on  this  point  again 
seem  to  be  generally  agreed,  that  they  do  not  think  "  red  rust " 
has  been  proved  to  be  injurious  to  cattle.  The  direct  influence 
of  fungi  on  quadrupeds,  birds,  reptilia,  &c.,  seems  to  be  in- 
finites! mally  small. 

Insects  of  various  orders  have  been  observed  from  time  to 
time  to  become  the  prey  of  fungi.*  That  known  at  Guadaloupe 
under  the  name  of  La  G-tiepe  Vegetale,  or  vegetable  wasp,  has 
been  often  cited  as  evidence  that,  in  some  instances  at  least, 
the  fungus  attacks  the  insect  whilst  still  living.  Dr.  Madianna 
states  that  he  has  noticed  the  wasp  still  living  with  its  in- 
cumbrance  attached  to  it,  though  apparently  in  the  last  stage  of 
existence,  and  seeming'  about  to  perish  from  the  influence  of  its 
destructive  parasite.f  This  fungus  is  called  by  Tulasne  Torrubia 
sphecocephala.%  About  twenty-five  species  of  this  genus  of 
spheeriaceous  fungi  have  been  described  as  parasitic  on  insects. 
Five  species  are  recorded  in  South  Carolina,  one  in  Penn- 
sylvania, found  on  the  larvee  of  the  May-bug,  and  one  other 
North  American  species  on  Nocturnal  Lepidoptera,  one  in 
Cayenne,  one  in  Brazil,  on  the  larva  of  a  Cicada^  and  one  on  a 
species  of  ant,  two  in  the  West  Indies,  one  in  New  Guinea  on 
a  species  of  Coccus,  and  one  on  a  species  of  Vespa  in  Senegal. 
In  Australia  two  species  have  been  recorded,  and  two  are  natives 
of  New  Zealand.  Dr.  Hooker  found  two  in  the  Khassya  moun- 
tains of  India,  and  one  American  species  has  also  been  found 
at  Darjeeling.  It  has  long  been  known  that  one  species,  which 
has  a  medicinal  repute  there,  is  found  in  China,  whilst  three 
have  been  recorded  in  Great  Britain.  Opinions  are  divided  as 
to  whether  in  these  instances  the  fungus  causes  or  is  subsequent 
to  the  death  of  the  insect.  It  is  generally  the  belief  of  ento- 
mologists that  the  death  of  the  insect  is  caused  by  the  fungus. 

*  Gray,  GK,  "  Notices  of  Insects  that  are  Known  to  Form  the  Bases  of  Fungoid 
Parasites."     London^  1858. 

t  Halsey,  "Ann.  Lyceum,"  New  York,  1824,  p.  125. 
£  Tulasne,  "  Selecta  Fung.  Carp."  vol.  in.  p.  17. 


INFLUENCES   AND   EFFECTS.  219 

In  the  case  of  Is  aria  sphingum,  which  is  the  conidia  form  of  a 
species  of  Torrubia,  the  moth  has  been  found  standing  on  a  leaf, 
as  during  life,  with  the  fungus  sprouting  from  its  body. 

Other  and  less  perfect  forms  of  fungi  also  attack  insects. 
During  the  summer  of  1826,  Professor  Sebert  collected  a  great 
many  caterpillars  of  Arctia  villica,  for  the  purpose  of  watching 
their  growth.  These  insects  on  arriving  at  their  full  size  became 
quite  soft,  and  then  suddenly  died.  Soon  after  they  became 
hard,  and,  if  bent,  would  easily  break  into  two  pieces.  Their 
bodies  were  covered  with  a  beautiful  shining  white  mould. 
If  some  of  the  caterpillars  affected  with  the  parasitic  mould 
were  placed  on  the  same  tree  with  those  apparently  free  from 
its  attack,  the  latter  soon  exhibited  signs  that  they  also  were 
attacked  in  the  same  manner,  in  consequence  of  coming  into 
contact  with  each  other.* 

During  the  spring  of  1851,  some  twelve  or  twenty  specimens 
were  found  from  amongst  myriads  of  Cicada  septemdecim,  which, 
though  living,  had  the  posterior  third  of  the  abdominal  contents 
converted  into  a  dry,  powdery,  ochreous-yellow  compact  mass 
of  sporuloid  bodies.  The  outer  coverings  of  that  portion  of 
the  insect  were  loose  and  easily  detached,  leaving  the  fungoid 
matter  in  the  form  of  a  cone  affixed  by  its  base  to  the  unaffected 
part  of  the  abdomen  of  the  insect.  The  fungus  may  commence, 
says  Dr.  Leidy,  its  attacks  upon  the  larva,  develop  its  mycelium, 
and  produce  a  sporular  mass  within  the  active  pupa,  when  many 
are  probably  destroyed ;  but  should  some  be  only  affected  so  far 
as  not  to  destroy  the  organs  immediately  essential  to  life,  they 
might  undergo  their  metamorphosis  into  the  imago,  in  which 
case  they  would  be  affected  in  the  manner  previously  described,  f 

The  common  house-fly  in  autumn  is  very  usually  subject  to 
the  attacks  of  a  mouldy  fungus  called  Sporendonema  musc<z>  or 
Empusa  muscce  in  former  times,  which  is  now  regarded  as  the 
terrestrial  condition  of  one  of  the  Saprolegniei.%  The  flies 
become  sluggish,  and  at  last  fix  themselves  to  some  object  on 

*  "Berlin  Entom.  Zeitung,"  1853,  p.  178. 

•f*  "Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,"  v.  p.  53. 

J  "  Wiegmann  Archiv."  1835,  ii.  p.  354  ;  "  Ann.  Nat.  Hist."  1841,       405. 


220  FUNGI. 

which  they  die,  with  their  legs  extended  and  head  depressed, 
the  body  and  wings  soon  becoming  covered  with  a  minute  white 
mould,  the  joints  of  which  fall  on  the  surrounding  object.  Ex- 
amples are  readily  distinguished  when  they  settle  on  windows 
and  thus  succumb  to  their  foe.  Mr.  Gray  says  that  a  similar 
mould  has  been  observed  on  individuals  of  the  wasp  family. 

A  Gryllotalpa  was  found  in  a  wood  near  Newark,  Delaware, 
U.  S.,  upon  turning  over  a  log.  The  insect  was  seen  standing 
very  quietly  at  the  mouth  of  its  oval  cell,  which  is  formed 
in  the  earth,  having  a  short  curved  tube  to  the  surface.  Upon 
taking  it  up  it  exhibited  no  signs  of  movement,  though  perfectly 
fresh  and  lifelike  in  appearance.  On  examining  it  next  morning 
it  still  presented  no  signs  of  life.  Every  part  of  the  insect  was 
perfect,  not  even  the  antennae  being  broken.  Upon  feeling  it, 
it  was  very  hard  and  resistant,  and  on  making  an  incision 
through  the  thorax  it  exhaled  a  fungoid  odour.  The  insect  had 
been  invaded  by  a  parasitic  fungus  which  everywhere  filled  the 
animal,  occupying  the  position  of  all  the  soft  tissue,  and  extend- 
ing even  into  the  tarsal  joints.  It  formed  a  yellowish  or  cream- 
coloured  compact  mass.* 

The  destructive  silk- worm  disease,  Botrytis  Bassiana,  is  also 
a  fungus  which  attacks  and  destroys  the  living  insect,  concern- 
ing which  an  immense  deal  has  been  written,  but  which  has  not 
yet  been  eradicated.  It  has  also  been  supposed  that  a  low  form 
or  imperfect  condition  of  a  mould  has  much  to  do  with  the 
disease  of  bees  known  as  "  foul  brood."  f 

Penicillium  Fieberi,  figured  by  Corda  on  a  beetle,  was  doubt- 
Jess  developed  entirely  after  death,  with  which  event  it  had 
probably  nothing  whatever  to  do.  J  Sufficient,  however,  has 
been  written  to  show  that  fungi  have  an  influence  on  insect  life, 
and  this  might  be  extended  to  other  animal  forms,  as  to  spiders, 
on  which  one  or  two  species  of  Isaria  are  developed,  whilst 
Dr.  Leidy  has  recorded  observations  on  Julus§  which  may  bo 

*  Leidy,  "Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phil."  1851,  p.  204. 

f  "  Gardener's  Chronicle,"  November  21,  1868. 

$  Corda,  "  Pracbtflora,"  pi.  ix. 

§  Leidy,  "  Fauna  and  Flora  within  Living  Animals,"  in  "Smithsonian  Con- 
tributions to  Knowledge." 


INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS.  221 

perused  with  advantage.  Fish  are  subject  to  a  mouldy-looking 
parasite  belonging  to  the  Saprolegniei,  and  a  similar  form 
attacks  the  ova  of  toads  and  frogs.  Grold  fish  in  globes  and 
aquaria  are  very  subject  to  attack  from  this  mouldy  enemy,  and 
although  we  have  seen  them  recover  under  a  constant  change  of 
water,  this  is  by  no  means  always  the  case,  for  in  a  few  weeks 
the  parasite  will  usually  prevail. 

The  influence  of  fungi  upon  animals  in  countries  other  than 
European  is  very  little  known,  except  in  the  case  of  the  species 
of  Torrulia  found  on  insects,  and  the  diseases  to  which  silk- 
worms are  subject.  Instances  have  been  recorded  of  the  occur- 
rence of  fungoid  mycelium — for  in  most  it  is  nothing  more — in 
the  tissues  of  animals,  in  the  hard  structure  of  bone  and  shell, 
in  the  intestines,  lungs,  and  other  fleshy  parts,  and  in  various 
organs  of  birds.*  In  some  of  the  latter  cases  it  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  Mucor,  in  most  it  is  merely  cells  without  sufficient 
character  for  determination.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that 
fungi  may  be  found  in  such  situations ;  the  only  question  with 
regard  to  them  is  whether  they  are  not  accidental,  and  not  the 
producers  of  unhealthy  or  diseased  tissues,  even  when  found  in 
proximity  thereto. 

There  is  one  phase  of  the  influences  of  fungi  on  the  lower 
animals  which  must  not  be  wholly  passed  over,  and  that  is  the 
relation  which  they  bear  to  some  of  the  insect  tribes  in  fur- 
nishing them  with  food.  It  is  especially  the  case  with  the 
Coleoptcra  that  many  species  seem  to  be  entirely  dependent  on 
fungi  for  existence,  since  they  are  found  in  no  other  situations. 
Beetle-hunters  tell  us  that  old  Polyporei,  and  similar  fungi  of 
a  corky  or  woody  nature,  are  always  sought  after  for  certain 
species  which  they  seek  in  vain  elsewhere,f  and  those  who  pos- 
sess herbaria  know  how  destructive  certain  minute  members  of 
the  animal  kingdom  are  to  their  choicest  specimens,  against 
whose  depredations  even  poison  is  sometimes  unavailing. 

Some  of  the  Uredines,  as  Trichobasis  suaveolens  and  Coleospo- 
rium  sonchi,  are  generally  accompanied  by  a  little  orange  larva 

*  Murie,  in  "Monthly  Microscopical  Journal"  (1872),  vii.  p.  3 49. 

t  See  genus  Mycetophayus,  "Stephen's  Manual  Brit.  Coleopt."  p.  132. 


222  FUNGI. 

which  preys  upon  the  fungus;  and  in  the  United  States  Dr. 
Bolles  informs  us  that  some  species  of  JEcidium  are  so  con- 
stantly infested  with  this  red  larva  that  it  is  scarcely  possible 
to  get  a  good  specimen,  or  to  keep  it  from  its  sworn  enemy. 
Minute  Anguillidce  revel  in  tufts  of  mould,  and  fleshy  Agarics, 
as  they  pass  into  decay,  become  colonies  of  insect  life.  Small 
Lepidoptera,  belonging  to  the  Tineina,  appear  to  have  a  liking 
for  such  Polyporei  as  P.  sulfureus  when  it  becomes  dry  and 
hard,  or  P.  squamosus  when  it  has  attained  a  similar  condition. 
Acari  and  Psocidce  attack  dried  fungi  of  all  kinds,  and  speedily 
reduce  them  to  an  unrecognizable  powder. 

III.  What  are  the  influences  exerted  by  fungi  on  other 
plants  ?  This  is  a  broad  subject,  but  withal  an  important  one, 
since  these  influences  act  indirectly  on  man  as  well  as  on  the 
lower  animals.  On  man,  inasmuch  as  it  interferes  with  the  vege- 
table portion  of  his  food,  either  by  checking  its  production  or 
depreciating  its  quality.  On  the  lower  animals,  since  by  this 
means  not  only  is  their  natural  food  deteriorated  or  diminished, 
but  through  it  injurious  effects  are  liable  to  be  produced  by  the 
introduction  of  minute  fungi  into  the  system.  These  remarks 
apply  mainly  to  fungi  which  are  parasitic  on  living  plants.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  influence  of  fungi  must  not  be  lost  sight  of 
as  the  scavengers  of  nature  when  dealing  with  dead  and  decay- 
ing vegetable  matter.  Therefore,  as  in  other  instances,  we  have 
here  also  good  and  bad  influences  intermingled,  so  that  it  can- 
not be  said  that  they  are  wholly  evil,  or  unmixed  good. 

Wherever  we  encounter  decaying  vegetable  matter  we  meet 
with  fungi,  living  upon  and  at  the  expense  of  decay,  appropri- 
ating the  changed  elements  of  previous  vegetable  life  to  the 
support  of  a  new  generation,  and  hastening  disintegration  and 
assimilation  with  the  soil.  No  one  can  have  observed  the 
mycelium  of  fungi  at  work  on  old  stumps,  twigs,  and  decayed 
wood,  without  being  struck  with  the  rapidity  and  certainty  with 
which  disintegration  is  being  carried  on.  The  gardener  casts 
on  one  side,  in  a  pile  as  rubbish,  twigs  and  cuttings  from  his 
trees,  which  are  useless  to  him,  but  which  have  all  derived  much 
from  the  soil  on  which  they  flourished.  Shortly  fungi  make 


INFLUENCES    AND   EFFECTS.  223 

their  appearance  in  species  almost  innumerable,  sending  their 
subtle  threads  of  mycelium  deep  into  the  tissues  of  the  woody 
substance,  and  the  whole  mass  teems  with  new  life.  In  this 
metamorphosis  as  the  fungi  flourish  so  the  twigs  decay,  for  the 
new  life  is  supported  at  the  expense  of  the  old,  and  together 
the  destroyers  and  their  victims  return  as  useful  constituents  to 
the  soil  from  whence  they  were  derived,  and  form  fresh  pabulum 
for  a  succeeding  season  of  green  leaves  and  sweet  flowers.  In 
woods  and  forests  we  can  even  more  readily  appreciate  the  good 
offices  of  fungi  in  accelerating  the  decay  of  fallen  leaves  and 
twigs  which  surround  the  base  of  the  parent  trees.  In  such 
places  Nature  is  left  absolutely  to  her  own  resources,  and  what 
man  would  accomplish  in  his  carefully  attended  gardens  and 
shrubberies  must  here  be  done  without  his  aid.  What  we  call 
decay  is  merely  change;  change  of  form,  change  of  relationship, 
change  of  composition;  and  all  these  changes  are  effected  by 
various  combined  agencies — water,  air,  light,  heat,  these  furnish- 
ing new  and  suitable  conditions  for  the  development  of  a  new 
race  of  vegetables.  These,  by  their  vigorous  growth,  continue 
what  water  and  oxygen,  stimulated  by  light  and  heat,  had 
begun,  and  as  they  flourish  for  a  brief  season  on  the  fallen 
glories  of  the  past  summer,  make  preparation  for  the  coming 
spring. 

Unfortunately  this  destructive  power  of  fungi  over  vegetable 
tissues  is  too  often  exemplified  in  a  manner  which  man  does  not 
approve.  The  dry  rot  is  a  name  which  has  been  given  to  the 
ravages  of  more  than  one  species  of  fungus  which  flourishes  at 
the  expense  of  the  timber  it  destroys.  One  of  these  forms  of 
dry  rot  fungus  is  Merulius  lacrymans,  which  is  sometimes  spoken 
of  as  if  it  were  the  only  one,  though  perhaps  the  most  destruc- 
tive in  houses.  Another  is  Polyporus  hybridus,  which  attacks 
oak-built  vessels  ;  *  and  these  are  nq$  the  only  ones  which  are 
capable  of  mischief.  It  appears  that  the  dry  rot  fungus  acts 
indirectly  on  the  wood,  whose  cells  are  saturated  with  its  juice, 
and  in  consequence  lose  their  lignine  and  cellulose,  though  their 
walls  suffer  no  corrosion.  The  different  forms  of  decay  in  wood 
*  Sowerby's  "  Fungi,"  plates  289  and  287,  fig.  6. 


224  FUNGI. 

are  accompanied  by  fungi,  which  either  completely  destroy  the 
tissue,  or  alter  its  nature  so  much  by  the  abstraction  of  the 
cellulose  and  lignine,  that  it  becomes  loose  and  friable.  Thus 
fungi  induce  the  rapid  destruction  of  decaying  wood.  These 
are  the  conclusions  determined  by  Schacht,  in  his  memoir  on 
the  subject.* 

We  may  allude,  in  passing,  to  another  phase  of  destructive- 
ness  in  the  mycelium  of  fungi,  which  traverse  the  soil  and  in- 
terfere most  injuriously  with  the  growth  of  shrubs  and  trees. 
The  reader  of  journals  devoted  to  horticulture  will  not  fail  to 
notice  the  constant  appeals  for  advice  to  stop  the  work  of  fungi 
in  the  soil,  which  sometimes  threatens  vines,  at  others  conifers, 
and  at  others  rhododendrons.  Dead  leaves,  and  other  vegetable 
substances,  not  thoroughly  and  completely  decayed,  are  almost 
sure  to  introduce  this  unwelcome  element. 

Living  plants  suffer  considerably  from  the  predations  of  para- 
sitic species,  and  foremost  amongst  these  in  importance  are 
those  which  attack  the  cereals.  The  corn  mildew  and  its  accom- 
panying rust  are  cosmopolitan,  as  far  as  we  know,  wherever 
corn  is  cultivated,  whether  in  Australia  or  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Himalayas.  The  same  may  also  be  said  of  smut,  for  ~Ustilago  is 
as  common  in  Asia  and  America  as  in  Europe.  We  have  seen  it 
on  numerous  grasses  as  well  as  on  barley  from  the  Punjab,  and 
a  species  different  from  Ustilago  maydis  on  the  male  florets  of 
maize  from  the  same  locality.  In  addition  to  this,  we  learn 
that  in  1870  one  form  made  its  appearance  on  rice.  It  was 
described  as  constituting  in  some  of  the  infested  grains  a 
whitish,  gummy,  interlaced,  ill-defined,  thread-like  mycelium, 
growing  at  the  expense  of  the  tissues  of  the  affected  organs, 
and  at  last  becoming  converted  into  a  more  or  less  coherent 
mass  of  spores,  of  a  dirty  green  colour,  on  the  exterior  of  the 
deformed  grains.  Beneath  the  outer  coating  the  aggregated 
spores  are  of  a  bright  orange  red ;  the  central  portion  has  a  vesi- 
cular appearance,  and  is  white  in  colour.f  It  is  difficult  to 

*  Schacht,  "  Fungous  Threads  in  the  Cells  of  Plants,"  in  Pringsheim's  "  Jahr- 
buch."  Berlin,  1863. 

t  "  Proceedings  of  the  Agri.  Hort.  Soc.  of  India"  (1871),  p.  85. 


INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS.  225 

determine  from  the  description  what  this  so-called  Ustilago  may 
be,  which  was  said  to  have  affected  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
standing  rice  crop  in  the  vicinity  of  Diamond  Harbour. 

Bunt  is  another  pest  (Tilletia  caries)  which  occupies  the 
whole  farinaceous  portion  of  the  grains  of  wheat.  Since 
dressing  the  seed  wheat  has  been  so  widely  adopted  in  this 
country,  this  pest  has  been  of  comparatively  little  trouble. 
Sorghum  and  the  small  millets,  in  countries  where  these  are 
cultivated  for  food,  are  liable  to  attacks  from  allied  parasites. 
Ergot  attacks  wheat  and  rice  as  well  as  rye,  but  not  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  have  any  important  influence  upon  the  crop.  Two 
or  three  other  species  of  fungi  are  sometimes  locally  trouble- 
some, as  Dilophospora  graminis,  and  Septoria  nodorum  on  wheat, 
but  not  to  any  considerable  extent.  In  countries  where  make  is 
extensively  grown  it  has  not  only  its  own  species  of  mildew 
(Puccinia),  but  also  one  of  the  most  enormous  and  destructive 
species  of  Ustilago. 

A  singular  parasite  on  grasses  was  found  by  Cesati  in  Italy, 
in  1850,  infesting  the  glumes  of  Andropogon*  It  received  the 
name  of  Cerelella  Andropogonis,  but  it  never  appears  to  have 
increased  and  spread  to  such  an  extent  as  was  at  first  feared. 

Even  more  destructive  than  any  of  these  is  the  potato 
disease  f  (Peronospora  infest  ans\  which  is,  unfortunately,  too 
well  known  to  need  description.  This  disease  was  at  one  time 
attributed  to  various  causes,  but  long  since  its  ascertained  source 
has  been  acknowledged  to  be  a  species  of  white  mould,  which 
also  attacks  tomatoes,  but  less  vigorously.  De  Bary  has  given 
considerable  attention  to  this  disease,  and  his  opinions  are 
clearly  detailed  in  his  memoir  on  Peronospora,  as  well  as  in  his 
special  pamphlet  on  the  potato  disease.^  One  sees  the  cause  of 
the  epidemic,  he  says,  in  the  diseased  state  of  the  potato  itself, 
produced  either  accidentally  by  unfavourable  conditions  of  soil 
and  atmosphere,  or  by  a  depravation  that  the  plant  has  experi- 

*  "Gardeners  Chronicle"  (1852),  p.  643,  with  fig. 

t  Berkeley,  "  On  the  Potato  Murrain,"  in  "Jour.  Hort.  Soc."  vol.  i.  (1846), 
p.  9. 

J  De  Bary,  "  Die  gcgenwartig  herrschende  Kartoftelkrankheit." 


226  FUNGI. 

cnced  in  its  culture.  According  to  these  opinions,  the  vegetation 
of  the  parasite  would  be  purely  accidental,  the  disease  would  be 
independent  of  it,  the  parasite  would  be  able  frequently  even  to 
spare  the  diseased  organs.  Others  see  in  the  vegetation  of  the 
Peronospora  the  immediate  or  indirect  cause  of  the  various 
symptoms  of  the  disease ;  either  that  the  parasite  invades  the 
stalks  of  the  potato,  and  in  destroying  them,  or,  so  to  speak,  in 
poisoning  them,  determines  a  diseased  state  of  the  tubercles,  or 
that  it  introduces  itself  into  all  the  organs  of  the  plant,  and 
that  its  vegetation  is  the  immediate  canse  of  all  the  symptoms 
of  the  disease  that  one  meets  with  in  any  organ  whatever. 
His  observations  rigorously  proved  that  the  opinions  of  the 
latter  were  those  only  which  were  well  founded.  All  the  altera- 
tions seen  on  examining  spontaneous  individuals  are  found 
when  the  Peronospora  is  sown  in  a  nourishing  plant.  The  most 
scrupulous  examination  demonstrates  the  most  perfect  identity 
between  the  cultivated  and  spontaneous  individuals  as  much  in 
the  organization  of  the  parasite  as  in  the  alteration  of  the  plant 
that  nourishes  it.  In  the  experiments  that  he  had  made  he 
affirms  that  he  never  observed  an  individual  or  unhealthy  pre- 
disposition of  the  nourishing  plant.  It  appeared  to  him,  on  the 
contrary,  that  the  more  the  plant  was  healthy,  the  more  the 
mould  prospered.  •, , ,  <r 

We  cannot  follow  him  through  all  the  details  of  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  disease,  or  of  his  experiments  on  this 
and  allied  species,  which  resulted  in  the  affirmation  that  the 
mould  immediately  determines  the  disease  of  the  tubercles  as 
well  as  that  of  the  leaves,  and  that  the  vegetation  of  the 
Peronospora  alone  determines  the  redoubtable  epidemic  to  which 
the  potato  is  exposed.*  We  believe  that  this  same  observer 
is  still  engaged  in  a  series  of  observations,  with  the  view, 
if  possible,  of  suggesting  some  remedy  or  mitigation  of  the 
disease. 

Dr.  Hassall  pointed  out,  many  years  since,  the  action  of 
fungous  mycelium,  when  coming  in  contact  with  cellular  tissue, 

*  De  Bary,  "  Memoir  on  Peronospora,"  in  u  Annalcs  cles  Sci.  Nat." 


INFLUENCES    AND   EFFECTS.  227 

of  inducing  decomposition,  a  fact  which  has  been  fully  confirmed 
by  Berkeley. 

Unfortunately  there  are  other  species  of  the  same  genus  of 
moulds  which  are  very  destructive  to  garden  produce.  Perono- 
xpora  gangliformis,  B.,  attacks  lettuces,  and  is  but  too  common 
and  injurious.  Peronospora  effusa,  Grev.,  is  found  on  spinach 
and  allied  plants.  Peronospora  Schleideniana,  D.  By.,  is  in  some 
years  very  common  and  destructive  to  young  onions,  and  field 
crops  of  lucerne  are  very  liable  to  attack  from  Peronospora 
trifoliorum,  D.  By. 

The  vine  crops  are  liable  to  be  seriously  affected  by  a  species 
of  mould,  which  is  but  the  conidia  form  of  a  species  of  Erysiphe. 
This  mould,  known  under  the  name  of  Oidium  TucJceri,  B.j 
attacks  the  vines  in  hothouses  in  this  country,  but  on  the  Conti- 
nent the  vineyards  often  suffer  severely  *  from  its  depredations  ; 
unfortunately,  not  the  only  pest  to  which  the  vine  is  subject,  for 
an  insect  threatens  to  be  even  more  destructive. 

Hop  gardens  suffer  severely,  in  some  years,  from  a  similar 
disease  ;  in  this  instance  the  mature  or  ultimate  form  is  per- 
fected. The  hop  mildew  is  Spharotheca  Castagnei,  Lev.,  which 
first  appears  as  whitish  mouldy  blotches  on  the  leaves,  soon 
becoming  discoloured,  and  developing  the  black  receptacles  on 
either  surface  of  the  leaf.  These  may  be  regarded  as  tho 
cardinal  diseases  of  fungoid  origin  to  which  useful  plants  are 
subject  in  this  country. 

Amongst  those  of  less  importance,  but  still  troublesome 
enough  to  secure  the  anathemas  of  cultivators,  may  be  men- 
tioned Puccinia  Apii,  Ca.,  oft6n  successful  in  spoiling  beds  of 
celery  by  attacking  the  leaves ;  Cystopus  candidus.  Lev.,  and 
OlfBOSporium  concentricum,  Grev.,  destructive  to  cabbages  and 
other  cruciferous  plants ;  Trichobasis  Fabce,  Lev.,  unsparing 
when  once  established  on  beans  ;  Erysiphe  Martii,  Lev.,  in  some 
seasons  a  great  nuisance  to  the  crop  of  peas. 

*  "  Reports  of  H.  M.  Secretaries  of  Embassy  and  Legation  on  the  Effects  of 
the  Vine  Disease  on  Commerce,  1859;"  "Reports  of  H.  M.  Secretaries  of 
Embassy,  &c.,  on  Manufactures  and  Commerce,  Vine  Disease  in  Bavaria  and 
Switzerland,  1859,"  pp.  54  and  62. 


228  FUNGI. 

Fruit  trees  do  not  wholly  escape,  for  Eoestelia  cancellata,  Tul., 
attacks  the  leaves  of  the  pear.  Puccinia  prunorum  affects  the 
leaves  of  almost  all  the  varieties  of  plum.  Blisters  caused  by 
Ascomyces  deformans,  B.,  contort  the  leaves  of  peaches,  as  Asco- 
myces  bullatus,  B.,  does  those  of  the  pear,  and  Ascomyces  jug- 
landis,  B.,  those  of  the  walnut.  Happily  we  do  not  at  present 
suffer  from  Ascomyces  pruni,  Fchl., , which,  on  the  Continent, 
attacks  young  plum-fruits,  causing  them  to  shrivel  and  fall. 
During  the  past  year  pear-blossoms  have  suffered  from  what  seems 
to  be  a  form  of  HelmintJiosporium  pyrorum,  and  the  branches  are 
sometimes  infected  with  Capnodium  elongatum  ;  but  orchards  in 
the  United  States  have  a  worse  foe  in  the  "  black  knot,"*  which 
causes  gouty  swellings  in  the  branches,  and  is  caused  by  the 
SpJusria  morlosa  of  Schweinitz. 

Cotton  plants  in  India  t  were  described  by  Dr.  Shortt  as 
subject  to  the  attacks  of  a  kind  of  mildew,  which  from  the 
description  appeared  to  be  a  species  of  Erysiplie,  but  on  receiv- 
ing specimens  from  India  for  examination,  we  found  it  to  be 
one  of  those  diseased  conditions  of  tissue  formerly  classed  with 
fungi  under  the  name  of  Erineum ;  and  a  species  of  Torula 
attacks  cotton  pods  after  they  are  ripe.  Tea  leaves  in  planta- 
tions in  Cachar  have  been  said  to  suffer  from  some  sort  of  blight, 
but  in  all  that  we  have  seen  insects  appear  to  be  the  depredators, 
although  on  the  decaying  leaves  Hendersonia  theicola,  Cooke, 
establishes  itself.  J  The  coffee  plantations  of  Ceylon  suffer  from 
the  depredations  of  Hemiliea  vastatrix^  as  well  as  from  insects. § 
Other  useful  plants  have  also  their  enemies  in  parasitic  fungi. 

Olive-trees  in  the  south  of  Europe  suffer  from  the  attacks  of  a 
species  of  Antennaria,  as  do  also  orange  and  lemon  trees  from  a 
Capnodium,  which  covers  the  foliage  as  if  with  a  coating  of  soot. 
In  fact  most  useful  plants  appear  to  have  some  enemy  to  contend 
with,  and  it  is  fortunate,  not  only  for  the  plant,  but  its  cultiva- 

*  C.  H.  Peck,  "Oil  the  Black  Knot,"  in  "  Quekett  Microscopical  Journal/' 
vol.  iii.  p.  82. 

t  Cooke,  "Microscopic  Fungi,"  p.  177. 

$  "Grevillea,"  i.  p.  90. 

§  "  Gardener's  Chronicle,"  1873, 


INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS.  229 

tors,  if  this  enemy  is  less  exacting  than  is  the  case  with, the 
potato,  the  vine,  and  the  hop. 

Forestry  in  Britain  is  an  insignificant  interest  compared  to 
what  it  is  in  some  parts  of  Europe,  in  the  United  States,  and 
in  our  Indian  possessions.  In  these  latter  places  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  importance  to  inquire  what  influence  fungi  exert  on 
forest  trees.  It  may,  however,  be  predicated  that  the  injury 
caused  by  fungi  is  far  outstripped  by  insects,  and  that  there  are 
not  many  fungi  which  become  pests  in  such  situations.  Coni- 
ferous trees  may  be  infested  wkh  the  species  of  Peridermium, 
which  are  undoubtedly  injurious,  Peridermium  elatinum,  Lk., 
distorting  and  disfiguring  the  silver  fir,  as  Peridermium  Thomsoni, 
B.,*  does  those  of  Abies  Smithiana  in  the  Himalayas.  This 
species  occurred  at  an  elevation  of  8,000  feet.  The  leaves  be- 
come reduced  in  length  one-half,  curved,  and  sprinkled,  some- 
times in  double  rows,  with  the  large  sori  of  this  species,  which 
gives  the  tree  a  strange  appearance,  and  at  length  proves  fatal, 
from  the  immense  diversion  of  nutriment  requisite  to  support  a 
parasite  so  large  and  multitudinous.  The  dried  specimens  have 
a  sweet  scent  resembling  violets.  In  Northern  Europe  Cceoma 
pinitorquum,  D.  By.,  seems  to  be  plentiful  and  destructive.  All 
species  of  juniper,  both  in  Europe  and  the  United  States,  are 
liable  to  be  attacked  and  distorted  by  species  of  Podisoma  f  and 
Gymnosporangium.  Antennaria  pinopliila,  Fr.,  is  undoubtedly 
injurious,  as  also  are  other  species  of  Antennaria^  which  probably 
attain  their  more  complete  development  in  Capnodium,  of  which 
Capnodium  Oitri  is  troublesome  to  orange-trees  in  the  south  of 
Europe,  and  other  species  to  other  trees.  How  far  birch-trees 
are  injured  by  Dotliidea  letulina,  Fr.,  or  Melampsora  betulina, 
Lev.,  or  poplars  and  aspens  by  Melampsora  populina,  Lev., 
and  Melampsora  tremulcz,  Lev.,  we  cannot  say.  The  species  of 
Lecythea  found  on  willow  leaves  have  decidedly  a  prejudicial 
effect  on  the  growth  of  the  affected  plant. 

Floriculture  has  to  contend  with  many  fungoid  enemies,  which 
sometimes  commit  great  ravages  amongst  the  choicest  flowers. 

*  "Gardener's  Chronicle,"  1852,  p.  627,  with  fig. 
t  "Podisoma  Macropus,"  Hook,  "  Joum.  Bot."  vol.  iv.  plate  xii.  fig.  6. 
11 


230  FUNGI. 

Roses  have  to  contend  against  the  two  forms  of  Phraqmidium 
mucronatum  as  well  as  Asteroma  Hosce.  Still  more  disastrous 
is  a  species  of  JSnjsiptiei,  which  at  first  appears  like  a  dense 
white  mould.  This  is  named  Splicer oiheca  pannosa.  Nor  is  this 
all,  for  Peronospora  sparsa,  when  it  attacks  roses  in  conservatories, 
is  merciless  in  its  exactions.*  Sometimes  violets  will  be  distorted 
and  spoiled  by  Urocystis  Violce.  The  garden  anemone  is  freely 
attacked  by  JEiddiuin  qiiadrifidum.  Orchids  are  liable  to  spot 
from  fungi  on  the  leaves,  and  recently  the  whole  of  the  choicest 
hollyhocks  have  been  threatened  with  destruction  by  a  merciless 
foe  in  Puccinia  malvacearum.  This  fungus  was  first  made  known 
to  the  world  as  an  inhabitant  of  South  America  many  years  ago. 
It  seems  next  to  have  come  into  notoriety  in  the  Australian 
colonies.  Then  two  or  three  years  ago  we  hear  of  it  for  the 
first  time  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  last  year  for  the  first 
time  in  any  threatening  form  in  our  own  islands.  During  the 
present  year  its  ravages  are  spreading,  until  all  admirers  of 
hollyhocks  begin  to  feel  alarm  lest  it  should  entirely  exterminate 
the  hollyhock  from  cultivation.  It  is  common  on  wild  mallows, 
and  cotton  cultivators  must  be  on  the  alert,  for  there  is  a 
probability  that  other  malvaceous  plants  may  suffer. 

A  writer  in  the  "  Gardener's  Chronicle  "  has  proposed  a  remedy 
for  the  hollyhock  disease,  which  he  hopes  will  prove  effectual. 
He  says,  "  This  terrible  disease  has  now,  for  twelve  months, 
threatened  the  complete  annihilation  of  the  glorious  family  of 
hollyhock,  and  to  baffle  all  the  antidotes  that  the  ingenuity  of 
man  could  suggest,  so  rapidly  does  it  spread  and  accomplish  its 
deadly  work.  Of  this  1  have  had  very  sad  evidence,  as  last 
year  at  this  time  I  had  charge  of,  if  not  the  largest,  one  of  the 
largest  and  finest  collections  of  hollyhocks  anywhere  in  cultiva- 
tion, which  had  been  under  my  special  care  for  eleven  years, 
and  up  to  within  a  month  of  my  resigning  that  position  I  had 
observed  nothing  uncommon  amongst  them ;  but  before  taking 
my  final  leave  of  them  I  had  to  witness  the  melancholy  spectacle 
of  bed  after  bed  being  smitten  down,  and  amongst  them  many 
splendid  seedlings,  which  had  cost  me  years  of  patience  and 

*  Berkel-y,  in  "Gardener's  Chronicle,"  1862,  p.  308. 


INFLUENCES  AND  EFFECTS.  231 

anxiety  to  produce.  And  again,  upon  taking  a  share  and  the 
management  of  this  business,  another  infected  collection  fell  to 
my  lot,  so  that  I  have  been  doing  earnest  battle  with  this  disease 
since  its  first  appearance  amongst  us,  and  I  must  confess  that, 
up  to  a  very  short  time  back,  I  had  come  in  for  a  great  deal  the 
worst  of  the  fight,  although  I  had  made  use  of  every  agent  I 
could  imagine  as  being  likely  to  aid  me,  and  all  that  many 
competent  friends  could  suggest.  But  lately  I  was  reminded  of 
Condy's  patent  fluid,  diluted  with  water,  and  at  once  procured  a 
bottle  of  the  green  quality,  and  applied  it  in  the  proportion  of  a 
large  tablespoonful  to  one  quart  of  water,  and  upon  examining 
the  plants  dressed,  twelve  hours  afterwards,  was  delighted  to 
find  it  had  effectually  destroyed  the  disease  (which  is  easily 
discernible,  as  when  it  is  living  and  thriving  it  is  of  a  light 
grey  colour,  but  when  killed  it  becomes  of  a  rusty  black). 
Further  to  test  the  power  at  which  the  plant  was  capable  of 
bearing  the  antidote  without  injury,  I  used  it  double  the 
strength.  This  dose  was  instant  death  to  the  pest,  leaving 
no  trace  of  any  injury  to  the  foliage.  As  to  its  application, 
I  advocate  sponging  in  all  dressings  of  this  description. 
Syringing  is  a  very  ready  means,  but  very  wasteful.  No  doubt 
sponging  consumes  more  time,  but  taking  into  consideration  the 
more  effectual  manner  in  which  the  dressing  can  be  executed 
alone,  it  is  in  the  end  most  economical,  especially  in  regard  to 
this  little  parasite.  I  have  found  it  difficult  by  syringing,  as  it 
has  great  power  of  resisting  and  throwing  off  moisture,  and  if 
but  a  very  few  are  left  living,  it  is  astonishing  bow  quickly  it 
redistributes  itself.  I  feel  confident,  that  by  the  application  of 
this  remedy  in  time  another  season,  I  shall  keep  this  collection 
clean.  I  believe  planting  the  hollyhock  in  large  crowded  beds 
should  be  avoided,  as  I  have  observed  the  closer  they  are 
growing  the  more  virulently  does  the  disease  attack  them, 
whereas  isolated  rows  and  plants  are  but  little  injured."  * 

The  "Gardener's  Chronicle"  has  also  sounded  a  note  of  warning 
that  a  species  of  Uredine  has  been  very  destructive  to  pelar- 
goniums at  the  Cape  of   Good  Hope.     Hitherto  these  plants 
*  "Gardener's  Chronicle,"  August  22, 1874,  p.  243. 


232  FUNGI. 

have  not  suffered  much  in  this  country  from  parasites.  Besides 
these,  there  are  many  other  less  troublesome  parasites,  such  as 
TTredo  jilieum,  OK  ferns ;  Puccinia  Lychnidearum,  on  leaves  of 
sweet-william  ;  I] redo  Orchidis,  on  leaves  of  orchids,  &c. 

If  we  would  sum  up  the  influences  of  fungi  in  a  few  words,  it 
could  be  done  somewhat  in  the  following  form. 

Fungi  exert  a  deleterious  influence — 

On  Man, 

When  eaten  inadvertently. 

By  the  destruction  of  his  legitimate  food. 

In  producing  or  aggravating  skin  diseases. 

On  Animals, 

By  deteriorating  or  diminishing  their  food  supplies. 
By  establishing  themselves  as  parasites  on  some  species. 

On  Plants, 

By  hastening  the  decay  of  timber. 

By  establishing  themselves  as  parasites. 

By  impregnating  the  soil. 

But  it  is  not  proved  that  they  produce  epidemic  diseases  in 
man  or  animals,  or  that  the  dissemination  of  their  multitudinous 
spores  in  the  atmosphere  has  any  appreciable  influence  on  the 
health  of  the  human  race.  Hence  their  association  with  cholera, 
diarrhoea,  measles,  scarlatina,  and  the  manifold  ills  that  flesh  is 
heir  to,  as  producing  or  aggravating  causes,  must,  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge  and  experience,  be  deemed  apocryphal. 


XI. 

HABITATS. 

IT  commonly  happens  that  one  of  the  first  inquiries  which  the 
student  seeks  to  have  answered,  after  an  interest  is  excited  in 
fungi,  is — Where,  and  under  what  circumstances,  are  they  to  be 
found  ?  The  inexperienced,  indeed,  require  some  guide,  or  much 
labour  will  be  expended  and  patience  lost  in  seeking  microscopic 
forms  in  just  such  places  as  they  are  least  likely  to  inhabit.  Nor 
is  it  wholly  unprofitable  or  uninteresting  for  others,  who  do  not 
claim  to  be  students,  to  summarize  the  habitats  of  these  organ- 
isms, and  learn  how  much  the  circumstances  of  their  immediate 
surrounding  elements  influence  production.  For  reasons  which 
will  at  once  be  recognized  by  the  mycologist,  the  most  satis- 
factory method  of  study  will  be  somewhat  that  of  the  natural 
groups  into  which  fungi  are  divided. 

AGARICINI. — There  is  such  a  close  affinity  between  all  the 
genera  of  this  group  that  it  will  be  a  manifest  advantage  to  take 
together  all  those  fleshy  pileate  fungi,  the  fruit  of  which  is 
borne  on  folded  plates  or  gills.  It  must  be  premised  of  this 
group  that,  for  the  majority,  shade,  a  moderate  amount  of  mois- 
ture, and  steady  warmth,  but  not  too  great  heat,  are  required. 
A  stroll  through  a  wood  in  autumn  will  afford  good  evidence  of 
the  predilection  of  Agaricini,  as  well  as  some  smaller  groups,  for 
such  spots.  A  larger  proportion  will  be  found  in  woods,  where 
shade  is  afforded,  than  on  open  heaths  or  pastures.  These 
wood-loving  forms  will  consist,  again,  of  those  which  appear 
on  the  soil,  and  those  which  are  found  on  rotten  stumps  and 
decaying  trees.  Many  of  those  which  grow  on  trees  have  a 


234  FUNGI. 

lateral  stem,  or  scarcely  any  stem  at  all.  It  may  be  remarked, 
that  some  species  which  spring  from  the  soil  delight  most  in 
the  shelter  of  particular  trees.  The  Agarics  of  a  beech  wood  will 
materially  differ  largely  from  those  in  an  oak  wood,  and  both  will 
differ  from  those  which  spring  up  beneath  coniferous  trees. 

It  may  be  accepted  as  true  of  the  largest  proportion  of  terres- 
trial species,  that  if  they  do  not  spring  directly  from  rotten 
leaves,  and  vegetable  debris  in  the  last  stage  of  decay,  the 
soil  will  be  rich  in  vegetable  humus.  A  few  only  occur  on 
sandy  spots.  The  genus  Marasmius  is  much  addicted  to  dead 
leaves  ;  Russula,  to  open  places  in  woods,  springing  immediately 
from  the  soil.  Lactarius  prefers  trees,  and  when  found  in 
exposed  situations,  o'ccurs  mostly  under  the  shadow  of  trees.* 
Cantharellus,  again,  is  a  woodland  genus,  many  of  the  species 
loving  to  grow  amongst  grass  or  moss,  and  some  as  parasites  on 
fche  latter.  Coprinus  is  not  a  genus  much  addicted  to  woods,  but 
is  rather  peculiar  in  its  attachment  to  man — if  such  expression, 
or  one  even  implying  domesticity,  might  be  employed — farm- 
yards, gardens,  dunghills,  the  base  of  old  gateposts  and  railings, 
in  cellars,  on  plaster  walls,  and  even  on  old  damp  carpets. 
HygropJiorus  loves  "  the  open,"  whether  pastures,  lawns,  heaths, 
commons,  or  up  the  slopes  of  mountains,  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
highest  found  in  Great  Britain.  Cortinarius  seems  to  have  a 
preference  for  woods,  whilst  Bolbitius  affects  dung,  or  a  rich 
soil.  Lentinus,  Panus,  Eenzites,  and  Scliizopliyllwn  all  grow  on 
wood.  Coming  to  the  subgenera  of  Agaricus,  we  find  Plcurotus, 
Crepidotus,  Pluteus,  Collybia,  Pholiota,  Flammula,  Hypholoma, 
and  some  species  of  Psathyra  growing  on  wood,  old  stumps,  or 
charcoal ;  Amanita,  Tricholoma,  and  Heleloma  most  attached  to 
woods ;  Clitocybe  and  Mycena  chiefly  amongst  leaves ;  Nolanea 
amongst  grass ;  Omplialia  and  Galera  chiefly  in  swampy  places  ; 
Lepiota,  Leptonia,  Psalliota,  Stropharia,  Psilocylie,  and  Psatliyrella 
mostly  in  open  places  and  pastures  ;  Deconica  and  Panceolus 
mostly  on  dung  ;  Hhtoloma  and  Clitopilus  chiefly  terrestrial,  and 
the  rest  variable. 

*  These  predilections  must  be  accepted  as  general,  to  which  there  will   be 
exceptions. 


HABITATS.  235 

Of  special  habitats,  we  may  allude  to  Nyctalis,  of  which 
the  species  are  parasitic  on  dead  fungi  belonging  to  the  genus 
Russula.  One  or  two  species  of  'Agaricus,  such  as  Agaricus 
tuberosus  and .  Agaricus  racemosus,  P.,  grow  on  decaying 
Agarics,  whilst  Agaricus  Loveianus  nourishes  on  Agaricus 
nelularis  even  before  it  is  thoroughly  decayed.  A  few  species 
grow  on  dead  fir  cones,  others  on  old  ferns,  &c.  Agaricus 
cepoestipes,  Sow.,  probably  of  exotic  origin,  grows  on  old  tan  in 
hothouses.  Agaricus  caulicinalis.  Bull,  nourishes  on  old  thatch, 
as  well  as  twigs,  &c.  Agaricus  juncicola,  Fr.,  affects  dead 
rushes  in  boggy  places,  whilst  Agaricus  affricatus,  Fr.,  and 
Agaricus  sphagnicola,  B.,  are  attached  to  bog  moss  in  similar 
localities.  Some  few  species  are  almost  confined  to  the  stems  of 
herbaceous  plants.  Agaricus  petasatus,  Fr.,  Agaricus  cucumis,  P., 
and  Paxillus  panuoides,  F.,  have  a  preference  for  sawdust. 
Agaricus  carpopkilus,  Fr.,  and  Agaricus  lalaninus,  P.,  have  a 
predilection  for  beech  mast.  Agaricus  urticcecola,  B.  and  Br., 
seems  to  confine  itself  to  nettle  roots.  Coprinus  radians,  Fr., 
makes  its  appearance  on  plaster  walls,  Coprinus  domesticus,  Fr., 
on  damp  carpets.  The  only  epizoic  species,  according  to  M. 
Fries,  is  Agaricus  cerussatus  v.  nauseosus,  which  has  been  met 
with  in  Russia  on  the  carcase  of  a  wolf ;  this,  however,  might 
have  been  accidental.  Persoon  described  Agaricus  NeapolHanus, 
which  was  found  growing  on  coffee-grounds  at  Naples  ;  and 
more  recently  Viviani  has  described  another  species,  Agaricus 
Cqffece,  with  rose-coloured  spores,  found  on  old  fermenting  coffee- 
grounds  at  Genoa.*  Tratinnick  figures  a  species  named  Aga- 
ricus Markii,  which  was  found  in  wine  casks  in  Austria.  A 
Coprinus  has,  both  in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent,  been 
found,  after  a  very  short  time,  on  the  dressing  of  wounds,  where 
there  has  been  no  neglect.  A  curious  case  of  this  kind,  which 
at  the  time  excited  great  interest,  occurred  some  fifty  years  since 
at  St.  George's  Hospital.  Some  species  appear  to  confine  them- 
selves to  particular  trees,  some  to  come  up  by  preference  on  soil 
in  garden  pots.  Certain  species  have  a  solitary,  others  a  gre- 
garious habit,  and,  of  the  latter,  Agaricus  grammopodius,  Bull, 
*  Viviani,  "  I  Funghi  d'ltalia." 


236  FUNGI. 

Agaricus  gambosus,  Fr.,  Marasmhis  oreades,  Fr.,  and  some  others 
grow  in  rings.  Hence  it  will  be  seen  that,  within  certain  limits, 
there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  habitats  of  the  Agaricini. 

Boleti  do  not  differ  much  from  Agaricini  in  their  localization. 
They  seem  to  prefer  woods  or  borders  of  woods  to  pastures, 
seldom  being  found  in  the  latter.  One  species,  B.  parasiticus, 
Bull,  grows  on  old  specimens  of  Scleroderma,  otherwise  they  are 
for  the  most  part  terrestrial. 

Polypori  also  have  no  wide  range  of  habitat,  except  in  choice 
of  trees  on  which  to  grow,  for  the  majority  of  them  are  corti- 
colons.  The  section  Mesopus,  which  has  a  distinct  central  stem, 
has  some  species  which  prefer  the  ground.  Polyporus  tuberaster, 
P.,  in  Italy  springs  from  the  Pietra  funghaia,*  and  is  cultivated 
for  food  as  well  as  Polyporus  avellanus,  which  is  reared  from 
charred  blocks  of  cob-nut  trees. 

In  other  genera  of  the  Polyporei  similar  habitats  prevail. 
Merulius  lacrymans,  Fr.,  one  form  of  dry  rot,  occurs  in  cellars, 
and  too  often  on  worked  timber ;  whilst  Merulius  himantoides, 
Fr.,  is  much  more  delicate,  sometimes  running  over  plants  in 
conservatories. 

HTDNEI. — There  is  nothing  calling  for  special  note  on  the 
habitats  of  these  fungi.  The  stipitate  species  of  Hydnum  are 
some  of  them  found  in  woods,  others  on  heaths,  one  on  fir-cones, 
while  the  rest  have  similar  habitats  to  the  species  of  Polyporus. 

AURICULARINI. — The  genera  Hymenochcete^  Stereum,  and  Cor- 
ticittm,  with  some  species  of  Thelephora,  run  over  corticated  or 
decorticated  wood;  other  species  of  ThelepJiora  grow  on  the 
ground.  The  Pezizoid  forms  of  Cypliella  and  Solenia,  like  species 
of  Peziza,  sometimes  occur  on  bark,  and  of  the  former  genus 
some  on  grasses  and  others  on  moss. 

CLAVATJIEI. — The  interesting,  often  brightly-coloured,  tufts  of 
Clavarla  are  usually  found  amongst  grass,  growing  directly  from 
the  gronnd.  Only  in  rare  instances  do  they  occur  on  dead  leaves 
or  herbaceous  stems.  Calocera  probably  should  be  classed  with 
the  Tremellini,  to  which  its  structure  seems  more  closely  allied. 
The  species  are  developed  on  wood.  The  species  of  TypJiula 

*  Badham's  "Esculent  Funguses,"  Ed.  i.  pp.  42,  116. 


HABITATS.  237 

and  Pistillaria  are  small,  growing  chiefly  on  dead  herbaceous 
plants.  One  or  two  are  developed  from  a  kind  of  Sclerotium, 
which  is  in  fact  a  compact  perennial  mycelium. 

TREMELLINL— These  curious  gelatinous  fungi  are,  with  rare 
exceptions,  developed  on  branches  or  naked  wood;  Tremella 
versicolor,  B.  and  Br.,  one  of  the  exceptions,  being  parasitic  on  a 
species  of  Corticium,  and  Tremella  epigaa,  B.  and  Br.,  spreading 
over  the  naked  soil.  This  completes  our  rapid  survey  of  the 
habitats  of  the  Hymenomycetes.  Very  few  of  them  are  really 
destructive  to  vegetation,  for  the  Agarics  and  Polypori  found  on 
growing  trees  are  seldom  to  be  seen  on  vigorous,  but  rather  on 
dead  branches  or  partly-decayed  trunks. 

The  GASTEROMYCETES  are  far  less  numerous  in  species,  and  also 
in  individuals,  but  their  habitats  are  probably  more  variable. 
The  Hypoc/cei,  or  subterranean  species,  are  found  either  near  the 
surface  or  buried  in  the  soil,  usually  in  the  neighbourhood  of  trees. 

PHALLOIDEI. — In  most  cases  the  species  prefer  woody  places. 
They  are  mostly  terrestrial,  and  have  the  faculty  of  making  their 
presence  known,  even  when  not  seen,  by  the  fetid  odour  which 
many  of  them  exhale.  Some  of  them  occur  in  sandy  spots. 

PODAXIXEI. — These  resemble  in  their  localities  the  Tricho- 
gastrcs.  Species  of  Podaxon  affect  the  nests  of  Termites  in 
tropical  countries.*  Others  are  found  growing  amongst  grass. 

TRICHOGASTRES. — These  are  chiefly  terrestrial.  The  rare  but 
curious  Batarrea  phalloides,  P.,  has  been  found  on  sand-hills, 
and  in  hollow  trees.  Tulostoma  mammo&um,  Fr.,  occurs  on  old 
stone  walls,  growing  amongst  moss.  Geaster  striatus,  D.  C., 
was  at  one  time  usually  found  on  the  sand  of  the  Denes  at  Great 
Yarmouth.  Although  Lycoperdon  giganteum,  Batsch ,  occurs 
most  frequently  in  pastures,  or  on  hedge  banks  in  fields,  we 
have  known  it  to  occur  annually  for  some  consecutive  years 
in  a  garden  near  London,  The  species  of  Scleroderma  seem  to 
prefer  a  sandy  soil.  Aglceocystis  is  rather  an  anomalous  genus, 
occurring  on  the  fruit  heads  of  Cyperus,  in  India.  Broomeia 
occurs  at  the  Cape  on  rotten  wood. 

*  An  excellent  white  Agaric  occurs  on  ant  nests  in  the  Neilgherries,  and  a 
curious  species  is  found  in  a  similar  position  in  Ceylon. 


238  FUNGI. 

MYXOGASTRES. — Rotten  wood  is  one  of  the  most  favoured  of 
matrices  on  which  these  fungi  develop  themselves ;  some  of 
them,  however,  are  terrestrial.  JJLtlialiu'm  will  grow  on  spent 
tan  and  other  substances.  Species  of  Diderma  flourish  on 
mosses,  jungermannise,  grass,  dead  leaves,  ferns,  &c.  Angiori- 
dium  sinuosum,  Grev.,  will  run  over  growing  plants  of  different 
kinds,  and  Spumaria,  in  like  manner,  encrusts  living  grasses. 
Badhamia  not  only  flourishes  on  dead  wood,  but  one  species  is 
found  on  the  fading  leaves  of  coltsfoot  which  are  still  green. 
Craterium  runs  over  almost  any  substance  which  lies  in  its  way. 
Licea  perreptans  was  found  in  a  cucumber  frame  heated  with 
spent  hops.  One  or  two  Myxoyastres  have  been  found  on  lead, 
or  even  on  iron  which  had  been  recently  heated.  Sowerby 
found  one  on  cinders,  in  one  of  the  galleries  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral. 

NIDULARIACEI  grow  on  the  ground,  or  on  sticks,  twigs,  chips, 
and  other  vegetable  substances,  such  as  sawdust,  dung,  and 
rotten  wood. 

The  CONIOMYCETES  consist  of  two  sections,  which  are  based  on 
their  habitats.  In  one  section  the  species  are  developed  on  dead 
or  dying  plants,  in  the  other  they  are  parasitic. on  living  plants. 
The  former  includes  the  Sph&ronemei,  which  are  variable  in  their 
proclivities,  although  mostly  preferring  dead  herbaceous  plants 
and  the  twigs  of  trees.  The  exceptions  are  in  favour  of  Sph&r- 
onema,  some  of  which  are  developed  upon  decaying  fungi.  In  the 
large  genera,  Septoria,  Ascochyta,  Phyllosticta,  Astcroma,  &c., 
the  favourite  habitat  is  fading  and  dying  leaves  of  plants  of  all 
kinds.  In  the  majority  of  cases  these  fungi  are  not  autonomous, 
but  are  merely  the  stylosporous  conditions  of  Spficzria.  They 
are  mostly  minute,  and  the  stylospores  are  of  the  simplest  kind. 
The  Melanconiei  have  a  preference  for  the  twigs  of  trees,  burst- 
ing through  the  bark,  and  expelling  the  spores  in  a  gelati- 
nous mass.  A  few  of  them  are  foliicolous,  but  the  exceptions 
are  comparatively  rare,  and  are  represented  chiefly  in  Glceo- 
sporium,  species  of  which  are  found  also  on  apples,  peaches, 
nectarines,  and  other  fruits.  The  Torulacei  are  superficial, 
having  much  of  the  external  appearance  of  the  black  moulds, 


HABITATS.  239 

and  like  them  are  found  on  decaying  vegetable  substances,  old 
stems  of  herbaceous  plants,  dead  twigs,  wood,  stumps  of  trees,  &c. 
The  exceptions  are  in  favour  of  such  species  as  Torula  sporendo- 
nema,  which  is  the  red  mould  of  cheese,  and  also  occurs  on  rats' 
dung,  old  glue,  &c.,  and  Sporcndonema  Musccs,  which  is  only 
the  conidia  of  a  species  of  Aclilya.  One  species  of  Bactridium 
is  parasitic  on  the  hymenium  of  Peziza,  and  Echinobotryum 
atrum,  on  the  flocci  of  black  moulds. 

In  the  other  section  of  Coniomycetes  the  species  are  parasitic 
upon,  and  destructive  to,  living  plants,  very  seldom  being  found 
on  really  dead  substances,  and  even  in  such  rare  cases  un- 
doubtedly developed  during  the  life  of  the  tissues.  Mostly  the 
ultimate  stage  of  these  parasites  is  exhibited  in  the  ruptured  cu- 
ticle, and  the  dispersion  of  the  dust-like  spores;  but  in  Tilletia 
caries,  Thecaplwra  Jtyalina,  and  Puccinia  incarcerate*,,  they  remain 
enclosed  within  the  fruit  of  the  foster-plant.  The  different 
genera  exhibit  in  some  instances  a  liking  for  plants  of  certain 
orders  on  which  to  develop  themselves.  Peridermium  attacks 
the  Conifers;  Gymnosporangium  and  Podisoma  the  different 
species  of  Juniper;  Mclampsora  chiefly  the  leaves  of  deciduous 
trees ;  Rcestelia  attaches  itself  to  pomaceous  trees,  whilst  Gra- 
pJtiola  affects  the  Palmacece,  and  Endophyllum  the  succulent 
leaves  of  houseleek.  In  JEcidiuni  a  few  orders  seem  to  be  more 
liable  to  attack  than  others,  as  the  Compositor,  Hanunculacece, 
Leguminosce,  Labiates,  &c.,  whilst  others,  as  the  Graminacece, 
Ericaceae,  Malvaceae,  Qruciferoe,  are  exempt.  There  are,  never- 
theless, very  few  natural  orders  of  phanerogamous  plants  in 
which  some  one  or  more  species,  belonging  to  this  section  of  the 
Coniomycetes,  may  not  be  found;  and  the  same  foster-plant  will 
occasionally  nurture  several  forms.  Recent  investigations  tend 
to  confirm  the  distinct  specific  characters  of  the  species  found 
on  different  plants,  and  to  prove  that  the  parasite  of  one  host 
will  not  vegetate  upon  another,  however  closely  allied.  This 
admission  must  not,  however,  be  accepted  as  universally  appli- 
cable, and  therefore  it  should  not  be  assumed,  because  a 
certain  parasite  is  found  developed  on  a  special  host,  that  it  is 
distinct,  unless  distinctive  characters,  apart  from  habitat,  can  be 


'240  FUNGI. 

detected.  JEcidium  compositarum  and  JEcidium  ranunculacearum, 
for  instance,  are  found  on  various  composite  and  ranunculaceous 
plants,  and  as  yet  no  sufficient  evidence  has  been  adduced  to 
prove  that  the  different  forms  are  other  than  varieties  of  one  01 
the  two  species.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
two  species  of  JEpidivm  are  developed  on  the  common  berberry, 
as  De  Bary  has  indicated  that  two  species  of  mildew,  Puccinia 
graminis,  and  Puccinia  siraminis,  are  found  on  wheat. 

HYPHOMYCETES. — The  moulds  are  much  more  universal  in  their 
habitats,  especially  the  Mucedines.  The  Isariacei  have  a  pre- 
dilection for  animal  substances,  though  not  exclusively.  Some 
species  occur  on  dead  insects,  others  on  decaying  fungi,  and  the 
rest  on  sticks,  stems,  and  rotten  wood.  The  Stilbacei  have  also 
similar  habitats,  except  that  the  species  of  Illosporium  seem  to  be 
confined  to  parasitism  on  lichens.  The  black  moulds,  Dematiet, 
are  widely  diffused,  appearing  on  herbaceous  stems,  twigs,  bark, 
and  wood  in  most  cases,  but  also  on  old  linen,  paper,  millboard, 
clung,  rotting  fruit,  &o.,  -whilst  forms  of  Cladcsporium  and  Macro- 
sporiwm,  are  met  with  on  almost  every  kind  of  vegetable  substance 
in  which  the  process  of  decay  has  commenced. 

MucedincSj  in  some  instances,  have  not  been  known  to  appear 
on  more  than  one  kind  of  matrix,  but  in  the  far  greater  number 
of  cases  they  flourish  on  different  substances.  Aspergillus 
cjlaucus  and  Penicillium  crustaceum  are  examples  of  these  uni- 
versal Jlfucc dines.  It  would  be  far  more  difficult  to  mention 
substances  on  which  these  moulds  are  never  developed  than  to 
indicate  where  they  have  been  found.  With  the  species  of 
Peronospora  it  is  different,  for  these  are  truly  parasitic  on  living 
plants,  and,  as  far  as  already  known,  the  species  are  confined  to 
certain  special  plants,  and  cannot  be  made  to  vegetate  on  any 
other.  The  species  which  causes  the  potato  murrain,  although 
liable  to  attack  the  tomato,  and  other  species  of  Solanacete,  does 
not  extend  its  ravages  beyond  that  natural  order,  whilst  Pero- 
nospora parasitica  confines  itself  to  cruciferous  plants.  One 
species  is  restricted  to  the  Umbelliferte,  another,  or  perhaps  two, 
to  the  Leyuminosce,  another  to  JRubiacete,  two  or  three  to  Ranun- 
and  two  or  three  to  Caryopln/llnceee.  All  the  experi- 


HABITATS.  241 

ments  made  by  De  JBary  seem  to  prove  that  the  species  of 
PeronospGra  will  only  flourish  on  certain  favoured  plants,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others.  The  non-parasitic  moulds  are  scarcely 
exclusive.  In  Oidium  some  species  are  parasitic,  but  probably 
all  the  parasitic  forms  are  states  of  Erysiphe,  the  non-parasitic 
alone  being  autonomous ;  of  these  one  occurs  on  Porrigo  lupi- 
nosa,  others  on  putrefying  oranges,  pears,  apples,  plums,  &c., 
and  one  on  honeycomb.  Acrospeira  grows  in  the  interior  of 
sweet  chestnuts,  and  we  have  seen  a  species  growing  within  the 
hard  testa  of  the  seeds  of  Guilandina  Bondue,  from  India,  to 
which  there  was  no  external  opening  visible,  and  which  was 
broken  with  considerable  difficulty.  Several  Macedines  are 
developed  on  the  dung  of  various  animals,  and  seldom  on  any- 
thing else. 

The  Pliysomycetes  consist  of  two  orders,  Antennariei  and  Mu- 
corini,  which  differ  from  each  other  almost  as  much  in  habitat 
as  in  external  appearance.  The  former,  if  represented  by  Anten- 
naria,  runs  over  the  green  and  fading  leaves  of  plants,  forming 
a  dense  black  stratum,  like  a  congested  layer  of  soot;  or  in  Zas- 
midium,  the  common  cellar  fungus,  runs  over  the  walls,  bottles, 
corks,  and  other  substances,  like  a  thick  sooty  felt.  In  the  J/M- 
corinij  as  in  the  Mucedines,  there  is  usually  less  restriction  to 
any  special  substance.  Mucor  mucedo  occurs  on  bread,  paste, 
preserves,  and  various  substances  ;  other  species  of  Mucor  seem 
to  have  a  preference  for  dung,  and  some  for  decaying  fungi,  but 
rotting  fruits  are  nearly  sure  to  support  one  or  other  of  the 
species.  The  two  known  species  of  the  curious  genus  Pilobolus, 
as  well  as  Hydropfiora,  are  confined  to  dung.  Sporodinia,  Syzy- 
gites,  &c.,  flourish  on  rotten  Agarics,  where  they  pass  through 
their  somewhat  complicated  existence. 

The  Ascomycetcs  contain  an  immense  number  of  species,  and  in 
general  terms  we  might  say  that  they  are  found  everywhere.  The 
Tuberacei  are  subterraneous,  with  a  preference  for  calcareous  dis- 
tricts. The  Perisporiacei  are  partly  parasitical  and  partly  not. 
The  Erysiphei  include  those  of  the  former  which  flourish  at  the 
expense  of  the  green  parts  of  roses,  hops,  maples,  poplars,  peas, 
and  many  other  plants,  both  in  Europe  and  in  North  A  raerica, 


2-12  FUNGI. 

whilst  in  warmer  latitudes  the  genus  Jlfeliola  appears  to  take 
their  place. 

The  Elvellacei  are  fleshy  fungi,  of  which  the  larger  forms  are 
terrestrial ;  MorcJiella,  Gyromitra,  and  Helvella  mostly  growing 
in  woods,  Mitrula,  Spathularia,  and  Leotia  in  swampy  places, 
and  Geoglossum  amongst  grass.  The  very  large  genus  Peziza 
is  divided  into  groups,  of  which  Aleurice  are  mostly  terrestrial. 
This  group  includes  nearly  all  the  large-sized  species,  although 
a  few  belong  to  the  next.  LaclmecG  are  partly  terrestrial  and 
partly  epiphytal,  the  most  minute  species  being  found  on  twigs 
and  leaves  of  dead  plants.  In  PTiialea  the  species  are  nearly 
entirely  epiphytal,  as  is  also  the  case  in  Helotium  and  allied 
genera.  Some  species  of  Peziza  are  developed  from  the  curious 
masses  of  compact  mycelium  called  Sclerotia.  A  few  are  rather 
eccentric  in  their  habitats.  P.  viridaria,  P.  domestica,  and  P. 
licemastiyina,  grow  011  damp  walls  ;  P.  granulata  and  some  others 
on  dung.  Peziza  Bullii  was  found  growing  on  a  cistern.  P.  tlie- 
leboloides  appears  in  profusion  on  spent  hops.  P.  epispJiaeria^ 
P.  clavariarum,  P.  vulgaris,  Helotium  pruinosum,  and  others  are 
parasitic  on  old  fungi.  One  or  two  species  of  Helotium  grow  on 
submerged  sticks,  so  as  to  be  almost  aquatic,  a  circumstance  of 
rare  occurrence  in  fungi.  Other  Discomycetes  are  similar  in 
their  habitats  to  the  Elvellacei.  The  group  to  which  the  old 
genus  Ascololus  belongs  is  in  a  great  measure  confined  to  the 
dung  of  various  animals,  although  there  are  two  or  three  ligni- 
colous  species ;  and  AscopTianus  saccharinus  was  first  found  on 
old  leather,  AscopJianus  testaceus  on  old  sacking,  &c.  Ascomyces 
is,  perhaps,  the  lowest  form  which  ascomycetous  fungi  assume, 
and  the  species  are  parasitic  on  growing  plants,  distorting  the 
leaves  and  fruit,  constituting  themselves  pests  to  the  cultivators 
of  peach,  pear,  and  plum  trees. 

The  SpTiceriacei  include  a  very  large  number  of  species  which 
grow  on  rotten  wood,  bark,  sticks,  and  twigs ;  another  group  is 
developed  on  dead  herbaceous  stems ;  yet  another  is  confined  to 
dead  or  dying  leaves.  One  genus,  Torrulia,  grows  chiefly  on 
insects;  Rypomyces  is  parasitic  on  dead  fungi;  Claviceps  is  deve- 
loped from  ergot,  Poronia  on  dung,  Polystiyma  on  living  leaves, 


HABITATS.  24o 

as  well  as  some   species  of  Stiymatea  and  DotJiidea.     Of  the 

genus  Sphceria,  a  considerable  number  are  found  on  dung,  now 

included  by  some  authors  under  Sordaria  and  Sporormia,  genera 

founded,  as  we  think,  on  insufficient  characters. 

A  limited  number  of  species  are  parasitic  on 

lichens,  and  one  species  only  is  known  to  be 

aquatic. 

We  have  thus  rapidly,  briefly,  and  casually 
indicated  the  habitats  to  which  the  majority 
of  the  larger  groups  of  fungi  are  attached, 
regarding  them  from  a  systematic  point  of 
view.  There  is,  however,  another  aspect  from 
which  we  might  approach  the  subject,  taking 
the  host  or  matrix,  or  in  fact  the  habitat,  as 
the  basis,  and  endeavouring  to  ascertain  what 
species  of  fungi  are  to  be  found  in  such  posi- 
tions. This  has  partly  been  done  by  M.  West- 

,  *   ,  -,  ,  •  -,        Ti      ,         FIG.  109.  —  Torrubia 

endorp;*  but  every  year  adds  considerably  to  mmtarit  on  pupa  of  a 
the  number  of  species,  and  what  might  have  moth' 
been  moderately  accurate  twelve  years  since  can  scarcely  be  so 
now.  To  carry  this  out  fully  a  special  work  would  be  neces- 
sary, so  that  we  shall  be  content  to  indicate  or  suggest,  by  means 
of  a  few  illustrations,  the  forms  of  fungi,  often  widely  distinct 
in  structure  and  character,  to  be  found  in  the  same  locality. 

The  stems  of  herbaceous  plants  are  favourite  habitats  for 
minute  fungi.  The  old  stems  of  the  common  nettle,  for  ex- 
ample, perform  the  office  of  host  to  about  thirty  species.f  Of 
these  about  nine  are  Pezizte,  and  there  are  as  many  spha3riaceous 
fungi,  whilst  three  species  of  Dendryphium,  besides  other  moulds, 
select  this  plant.  Some  of  these  have  not  hitherto  been  detected 
growing  on  any  other  stems,  such  as  SpTueria  urtica  and  Loplrios- 
toma  sex-nucleatum,  to  which  we  might  add  Peziza  fusarioides  and 
Dendryphium  griseum.  These  do  not,  however,  include  the  whole 
of  the  fungi  found  on  the  nettle,  since  others  are  parasitic  upon 

*  Westendorp,  "  Les  Cryptogams  apres  lenrs  stations  naturelles.'' 
t  Cooke,  "On  Nettle  Stems  and  their  Micro-Fungi,"  in  "Journ.  Quekett 
Micro.  Club,"  iii.  p.  b'9. 


244  FUNGI. 

its  living  green  parts.  Of  these  may  be  named  Mcidium  uriicce 
and  Peronospora  urticce,  as  well  as  two  species  described  by 
Desmazieres  as  Fusisporium  urticce  and  ftcptoria  urtica.  Hence 
it  will  be  seen  how  large  a  number  of  fungi  may  attach  them- 
selves to  one  herbaceous  plant,  sometimes  whilst  living,  but  most 
extensively  when  dead.  This  is  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance, 
but  a  type  of  what  takes  place  in  many  others.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  select  such  a  tree  as  the  common  lime,  we  shall  find 
that  the  leaves,  twigs,  branches,  and  wood  bear,  according  to 
M.  Westendorp,*  no  less  than  seventy-four  species  of  fungi,  and 
of  these  eleven  occur  on  the  leaves.  The  spruce  fir,  according  to 
the  same  anthority,  nourishes  one  hundred  and  fourteen  species, 
and  the  oak  not  less  than  two  hundred. 

It  is  curious  to  note  how  fungi  are  parasitic  upon  each  other 
in  some  instances,  as  in  that  of  Hypomyces,  characteristic  of  the 
genus,  in  which  sphteriaceous  fungi  make  hosts  of  dead  Lactarii, 
&c.  We  have  already  alluded  to  Nyctalis,  growing  on  decayed 
Hussul&i  to  Boletus  parasiticus,  flourishing  on  old  Scleroderma, 
and  to  Agaricus  Loveianus,  on  the  pileus  of  Agaricus  nebularis. 
To  these  we  may  add  Torrubia  ophioglossoides  and  T.  capitata, 
which  flourish  on  decaying  Elaphomyces,  Stilbum  tomenlosum  on 
old  Trichia,  Peziza  Glavariarum  on  dead  Clavaria,  and  many 
others,  the  mere  enumeration  of  which  would  scarcely  prove 
interesting.  A  very  curious  little  parasite  was  found  by  Messrs. 
Berkeley  and  Broome,  and  named  by  them  Hypocrea  inclusa, 
which  makes  itself  a  home  in  the  interior  of  truffles.  Mucors 
and  moulds  flourish  011  dead  and  decaying  Agarics,  and  other 
fleshy  forms,  in  great  luxuriance  and  profusion.  Mucor  ramosus 
is  common  on  Boletus  luridus,  and  Syzygites  megalocarpus  on 
Agarics,  as  well  as  Acrostalagmus  cinnabarinus.  A  very  curious 
little  parasite,  Echinobotryum  atrum,  occurs  like  minute  nodules 
on  the  flocci  of  black  moulds.  Bactridium  Helvella  usurps  the 
fructifying  disc  of  species  of  Peziza.  A  small  Sphinctrina  is 
found  both  in  Britain  and  the  United  States  on  old  Polypori. 
In  Spharia  nigerrima,  Nectria  episplicBria,  and  two  or  three 

*  Westendorp,  "  Les  Cryptogams  apres  leurs  stations  naturelles/'  1865. 


HABITATS.  245 

others,  we  have  examples  of  one  spheeriaceous  fungus  growing 
upon  another. 

Mr.  Phillips  has  recently  indicated  the  species  of  fungi  found 
by  him  on  charcoal  beds  in  Shropshire,*  but,  useful  as  it  is,  that 
only  refers  to  one  locality.  A  complete  list  of  all  the  fungi 
which  have  been  found  growing  on  charcoal  beds,  burnt  soil, 
or  charred  wood,  would  be  rather  extensive.  The  fungi  found 
in  hothouses  and  stoves  are  also  numerous,  and  often  of  con- 
siderable interest  from  the  fact  that  they  have  many  of  them 
never  been  found  elsewhere.  Those  found  in  Britain,  f  for  in- 
stance, are  excluded  from  the  British  Flora  as  doubtful,  because, 
growing  upon  or  with  exotic  plants,  they  are  deemed  to  be  of 
exotic  origin,  yet  in  very  few  cases  are  they  known  to  be  inha- 
bitants of  any  foreign  country.  Some  species  found  in  such 
localities  are  not  confined  to  them,  as  Agaricus  ccepestipes, 
Agaricus  cristatus,  JEthalium  vaporarium,  &c.  It  is  somewhat 
singular  that  certain  species  have  a  predilection  for  growing  in 
proximity  with  other  plants  with  which  they  do  not  appear  to 
have  any  more  intimate  relation.  Truffles,  for  instance,  in  asso- 
ciation with  oaks,  Peziza  lanuginosa  under  cedar-trees,  Hyd- 
nangium  carneum  about  the  roots  of  Eucalypti,  and  numerous 
species  of  Aqaricini,  which  are  only  found  under  trees  of  a  par- 
ticular kind.  .  As  might  be  anticipated,  there  is  no  more  fertile 
habitat  for  fungi  than  the  dung  of  animals,  and  yet  the  kinds 
found  in  such  locations  belong  to  but  a  few  groups.  Amongst 
the  Discomycetes,  a  limited  number  of  the  genus  Peziza  are 
fimicolous,  but  the  allied  genus  Ascobolus,  and  its  own  imme- 
diate allies,  include  amongst  its  species  a  large  majority  that  are 
found  on  dung.  If  we  take  the  number  of  species  at  sixty-four, 
there  are  only  seven  or  eight  which  do  not  occur  on  dung,  whilst 
fifty-six  are  fimicolous.  The  species  of  Sphceria  which  are  found 
on  the  same  substances  are  also  closely  allied,  and  some  Conti- 
nental authors  have  grouped  them  under  the  two  proposed 

*  "Gardener's  Chronicle,"  1874. 

J-  W.  G.  Smith,  in  "  Journ.  Botany,"  March,  1873;  Berkeley,  in  "  Grevillea," 
vol.  i.  p.  88. 


246  FUNGI. 

genera  Sporormia  and  Sordaria,  whilst  Fuckel  *  proposes  a  dis- 
tinct group  of  Sphceriacei,  under  the  name  of  Fimicoli,  in  which 
he  includes  as  genera  Coprolepa,  Hypocopra,  Delitschia,  Sporor- 
niia,  Pleophragmia,  Malinvernia,  Sordaria,  and  CercopJiora.  The 
two  species  of  Pilobolus,  and  some  of  Mucor,  are  also  found  on 
dung,  Isaria  felina  on  that  of  cats,  Stilbum  Jimetarium  and  a 
few  other  moulds,  and  amongst  Agarics  some  species  of  Coprinus. 
Animal  substances  are  not,  as  a  rule,  prolific  in  the  production 
of  fungi.  Ascobolus  saccliarinus  and  one  or  two  others  have 
been  found  upon  old  leather.  Onygena  of  two  or  three  species 
occurs  on  old  horn,  hoofs,  &c.  Cheese,  milk,  &c.,  afford  a  few 
forms,  but  the  largest  number  infest  dead  insects,  either  under 
the  mouldy  form  of  Isaria  or  the  more  perfect  condition  of  Tor- 
rubia, and  occasionally  under  other  forms. 

Robin  f  has  recorded  that  three  species  of  Bracfiinus,  of  the 
order  Coleoptera,  have  been  found  infected,  whilst  living,  with  a 
minute  yellow  fungus  which  he  calls  Laboulbenia  Rougeti,  and 
the  same  species  has  been  noted  on  other  beetles.  Torrubia 
Melolonthce  J  has  been  described  by  Tulasne  as  occurring  on  the 
maybug  or  cockchafer,  which  is  allied  to,  if  not  identical  with, 
Cordyceps  Ravenelii,  B.  and  C.,  and  also  that  described  and  figured 
by  M.  Fougeroux  de  Bondaroy.§  Torrubia  curculionum,  Tul., 
occurs  on  several  species  of  beetles,  and  seems  to  be  by  no  means 
uncommon  in  Brazil  and  Central  America.  Torrubia  ccespitosa, 
Tul.,  which  may  be  the  same  as  Cordyceps  Sinclairi,  B.,||  is  found 
on  the  larvse  of  Orthoptera  in  New  Zealand,  Torrubia  Miquelii 
on  the  larvse  of  Cicada  in  Brazil,  and  Torrubia  sobolifera  on  the 
pupse  of  Cicada  in  the  West  Indies.  A  romantic  account  is 
given  of  this  in  an  extract  cited  by  Dr.  Watson  in  his  communi- 
cation to  the  Royal  Society,  ^f  "  The  vegetable  fly  is  found  in 
the  island  Dominica,  and  (excepting  that  it  has  no  wings)  re- 

*  Fuckel,  "  Symbolse  Mycologicse,"  p.  240. 

+  Robin,  "  Vege"t.  Parasites,"  p.  622,  t.  viii.  f.  1,  2. 

$  Tulasne,  "Selecta  Fung.  Carp."  iii.  p.  12. 

§  "  Hist,  de  1'Acad.  des  Sciences,"  1769.     Paris,  1772. 

||  Berkeley,  "Crypt.  Bot.'  p.  73;     Hooker,  "New  Zealand  Flora,''  ii.  338. 

•H   "  Philosophical  Transactions,"  liii.  (1763),  p.  271. 


HABITATS.  247 

sembles  the  drone,  both  in  size  and  colour,  more  than  any  other 
English  insect.  In  the  month  of  May  it  buries  itself  in  the 
earth  and  begins  to  vegetate.  By  the  latter  end  of  July,  the 
tree  is  arrived  at  its  full  growth,  and  resembles  a  coral  branch, 
and  is  about  three  inches  high,  and  bears  several  little  pods, 
which,  dropping  off,  become  worms,  and  from  thence  flies,  like 
the  English  caterpillar."  Torrubia  Taylori,  which  grows  from 
the  caterpillar  of  a  large  moth  in  Australia,  is  one  of  the  finest 
examples  of  the  genus.  Torrubia  Robertsii,  from  New  Zealand, 
has  long  been  known  as  attacking  the  larva  of  Hepialus 
virescens.  There  are  several  other  species  on  larvae  of  different 
insects,  on  spiders,  ants,  wasps,  &c.,  and  one  or  two  on  mature 
Lepidoptera,  but  the  latter  seem  to  be  rare. 

That  fungi  should  make  their  appearance  and  flourish  in 
localities  and  conditions  generally  considered  inimical  to  vegetable 
life  is  no  less  strange  than  true.  We  have  already  alluded  to 
the  occurrence  of  some  species  on  spent  tan,  and  some  others 
have  been  found  in  locations  as  strange.  We  have  seen  a  yellow 
mould  resembling  Sporotriclium  in  the  heart  of  a  ball  of  opium, 
also  a  white  mould  appears  on  the  same  substance,  and  more 
than  one  species  is  troublesome  in  the  opium  factories  of  India. 
A  mould  made  its  appearance  some  years  since  in  a  copper 
solution  employed  for  electrotyping  in  the  Survey  Department 
of  the  United  States,*  decomposing  the  salt,  and  precipitating 
the  copper.  Other  organisms  have  appeared  from  time  to  time 
in  various  inorganic  solutions,  some  of  which  were  considered 
destructive  to  vegetable  life,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  some 
of  these  organisms  were  low  conditions  of  mould.  It  may  well 
occasion  some  surprise  that  fungi  should  be  found  growing 
within  cavities  wholly  excluded  from  the  external  air,  as  in  the 
hollow  of  filberts,  and  the  harder  shelled  nuts  of  Guilandina,  in 
the  cavities  of  the  fruit  of  tomato,  or  in  the  interior  of  an  egg. 
It  is  scarcely  less  extraordinary  that  Hypocrea  inclusa  should 
flourish  in  the  interior  of  a  kind  of  truffle. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  concluded  that  the  habitats  of  fungi 
are  exceedingly  variable,  that  they  may  be  regarded  as  almost. 
*  Berkeley's  "  Outlines,"  p.  30. 


248  FUNGI. 

universal  wherever  decaying  vegetable  matter  is  found,  and 
that  under  some  conditions  animal  substances,  especially  of 
vegetable  feeders,  such  as  insects,  furnish  a  pabulum  for  their 
development. 

A  very  curious  and  interesting  inquiry  presents  itself  to  OUT 
minds,  which  is  intimately  related  to  this  subject  of  the  habitats 
of  fungi.  It  shapes  itself  into  a  sort  of  "puzzle  for  the  curious,'' 
but  at  the  same  time  one  not  unprofitable  to  think  about.  How 
is  the  occurrence  of  new  and  before  unknown  forms  to  be 
accounted  for  in  a  case  like  the  following?* 

It  was  our  fortune — good  fortune  as  far  as  this  investigation 
was  concerned— to  have  a  portion  of  wall  in  our  dwelling  per- 
sistently damp  for  some  months.  It  was  close  to  a  cistern 
which  had  become  leaky.  The  wall  was  papered  with  "  marbled  " 
paper,  and  varnished.  At  first  there  was  for  some  time  nothing 
worthy  of  observation,  except  a  damp  wall — decidedly  damp, 
discoloured,  but  not  by  any  means  mouldy.  At  length,  and 
rather  suddenly,  patches  of  mould,  sometimes  two  or  three 
inches  in  diameter,  made  their  appearance.  These  were  at  first 
of  a  snowy  whiteness,  cottony  and  dense,  just  like  large  tufts  of 
cotton  wool,  of  considerable  expansion,  but  of  miniature  eleva- 
tion. They  projected  from  the  paper  scarcely  a  quarter  of  an 
inch.  In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  the  colour  of  the  tufts 
became  less  pure,  tinged  with  an  ochraceous  hue,  and  resembling 
wool  rather  than  cotton,  less  beautiful  to  the  naked  eye,  or  under 
a  lens,  and  more  entangled.  Soon  after  this  darker  patches 
made  their  appearance,  smaller,  dark  olive,  and  mixed  with,  or 
close  to,  the  woolly  tufts ;  and  ultimately  similar  spots  of  a 
dendritic  character  either  succeeded  the  olive  patches,  or  were 
independently  formed.  Finally,  little  black  balls,  like  small 
pin  heads,  or  grains  of  gunpowder,  were  found  scattered  about 
the  damp  spots.  All  this  mouldy  forest  was  more  than  six 
months  under  constant  observation,  and  during  that  period  was 
held  sacred  from  the  disturbing  influences  of  the  housemaid's 
broom  and  duster. 

Curiosity  prompted  us  from  the  first  to  submit  the  mouldy 
*  "  Popular  Science  Review,"  vol.  x.  (1871),  p.  25; 


HABITATS.  249 

denizens  of  the  wall  to  the  microscope,  and  this  curiosity  was 
increased  week  by  week,  on  finding  that  none  of  the  forms 
found  vegetating  on  nearly  two  square  yards  of  damp  wall 
could  be  recognized  as  agreeing  specifically  with  any  described 
moulds  with  which  we  were  acquainted.  Here  was  a  problem 
to  be  solved  under  the  most  favourable  conditions,  a  forest  of 
mould  indoors,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  fireside,  growing  quite 
naturally,  and  all  strangers.  Whence  could  these  new  forms 
proceed  ? 

The  cottony  tufts  of  white  mould,  which  were  the  first  to 
appear,  had  an  abundant  mycelium,  but  the  erect  threads  which 
sprang  from  this  were  for  a  long  time  sterile,  and  closely  inter- 
laced. At  length  fertile  threads  were  developed  in  tufts,  mixed 
with  the  sterile  threads.  These  fruit-bearers  were  shorter  and 
stouter,  more  sparingly  branched,  but  beset  throughout  nearly 
their  whole  length  with  short  patent,  alternate  branchlets. 
These  latter  were  broadest  towards  the  apex,  so  as  to  be  almost 
clavate,  and  the  extremity  was  beset  with  two  or  three  short 
spicules.  Each  spicule  was  normally  surmounted  by  an  obovate 
spore.  The  presence  of  fertile  threads  imparted  the  ochraceous 
tint  above  alluded  to.  This  tint  was  slight,  and  perhaps  would 
not  have  been  noticed,  but  from  the  close  proximity  of  the  snow- 
white  tufts  of  barren  threads.  The  fertile  flocci  were  decumbent, 
probably  from  the  weight  of  the  spores,  and  the  tufts  were  a 
little  elevated  above  the  surface  of  the  matrix.  This  mould 
belonged  clearly  to  the  Mucedines,  but  it  hardly  accorded  well 
with  any  known  genus,  although  most  intimately  related 
to  Rhinotrichttm,  in  which  it  was  placed  as  Rhinotrichum 
lanosuin.* 

The  white  mould  having  become  established  for  a  week  or 
two,  small  blackish  spots  made  their  appearance  on  the  paper, 
sometimes  amongst  thin  patches  of  the  mould,  and  sometimes 
outside  them.  These  spots,  at  first  cloudy  and  indefinite,  varied 
in  size,  but  were  usually  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  The  varnish  of  the  paper  was  afterwards  pushed  off 

*  Specimens  of  this  mould  were  distributed  in  Cooke's  "Fungi  Britannici 
Exsiccati,"  No.  356,  under  the  name  of  CfinotricJium  lanosum. 


250  FUNGI. 

1 

in  little  translucent  flakes  or  scales,  an  erect  olivaceous  mould 
appeared,  and  the  patches  extended  to  nearly  an  inch  in 
diameter,  maintaining  an  almost  universal  circular  form.  This 
new  mould  sometimes  possessed  a  dirty  reddish  tint,  but  was 
commonly  dark  olive.  There  could  be  no  mistake  about  the 
genus  to  which  this  mould  belonged ;  it  had  all  the  essential 
characters  of  Penicillium.  Erect  jointed  threads,  branched  in 
the  upper  portion  in  a  fasciculate  manner,  and  bearing  long 
beaded  threads  of  spores,  which  formed  a  tassel-like  head,  at 
the  apex  of  each  fertile  thread.  Although  at  first  reminded  of 
Penicillium  olivaceum,  of  Corda,  by  the  colour  of  this  species,  it 
was  found  to  differ  in  the  spores  being  oblong  instead  of  globose, 
and  the  ramifications  of  the  flocci  were  different.  Unable  again 
to  find  a  described  species  of  Penicillium  with  which  this  new 
mould  would  agree,  it  was  described  under  the  name  of  Peni- 
cillium cnartarum* 

Almost  simultaneously,  or  but  shortly  after  the  perfection 
of  the  spores  of  Penicillium^  other  and  very  similar  patches 
appeared,  distinguished  by  the  naked  eye  more  particularly  by 
their  dendritic  form.  This  peculiarity  seemed  to  result  from  the 
dwarfed  habit  of  the  third  fungus,  since  the  varnish,  though 
cracked  and  raised,  was  not  cast  off,  but  remained  in  small 
angular  fragments,  giving  to  the  spots  their  dendritic  appearance, 
the  dark  spores  of  the  fungus  protruding  through  the  fissures. 
This  same  mould  was  also  found  in  many  cases  growing  in  the 
same  spots  amongst  Penicillium  cJiartarum,  but  whether  from 
the  same  mycelium  could  not  be  determined. 

The  distinguishing  features  of  this  fungus  consist  in  an 
extensive  mycelium  of  delicate  threads,  from  which  arise 
numerous  erect  branches,  bearing  at  the  apex  dark  brown 
opaque  spores.  Sometimes  the  branches  were  again  shortly 
branched,  but  in  the  majority  of  instances  were  single.  The 
septate  spores  had  from  two  to  four  divisions,  many  of  them 
divided  again  by  cross  septa  in  the  longitudinal  direction  of  the 
spore,  so  as  to  impart  a  muriform  appearance.  As  far  as  the 
structure  and  appearance  of  the  spores  are  concerned,  they  re- 
*  Cooke's  "Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  p.  602. 


HABITATS.  251 

sembled  those  of  Sporidesmium  polt/morphum,  under  which  name 
specimens  were  at  first  published,*  but  this  determination  was 
not  satisfactory.  The  mycelium  and  erect  threads  are  much  too 
highly  developed  for  a  good  species  of  Sporidesmium,  although 
the  name  of  Sporidesmium  alternaria  was  afterwards  adopted. 
In  fresh  specimens  of  this  fungus,  when  seen  in  situ  by  a  half- 
inch  objective,  the  spores  appear  to  be  moniliform,  but  if  so,  all 
attempts  to  see  them  so  connected,  when  separated  from  the 
matrix,  failed.  On  one  occasion,  a  very  immature  condition  was 
examined,  containing  simple  beaded,  hyaline  bodies,  attached 
to  each  other  by  a  short  neck.  The  same  appearance  of 
beaded  spores,  when  seen  in  situ,  was  recognized  by  a  myco- 
logical  friend,  to  whom  specimens  were  submitted  for  con- 
firmation, f 

The  last  production  which  made  its  appearance  on  our  wall- 
paper burst  through  the  varnish  as  little  black  spheres,  likes, 
grains  of  gunpowder.  At  first  the  varnish  was  elevated  by 
pressure  from  beneath,  then  the  film  was  broken,  and  the  little 
blackish  spheres  appeared.  These  were,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
gregarious,  but  occasionally  a  few  of  the  spheres  appeared 
singly,  or  only  two  or  three  together.  As  the  whole  surface  of 
the  damp  paper  was  covered  by  these  different  fungi,  it  was 
scarcely  possible  to  regard  any  of  them  as  isolated,  or  to  declare 
that  one  was  not  connected  with  the  mycelium  of  the  others. 
The  little  spheres,  when  the  paper  was  torn  from  the  wall,  were 
also  growing  from  the  under  surface,  flattened  considerably  by 
the  pressure.  The  spherical  bodies,  or  perithecia,  were  seated 
on  a  plentiful  hyaline  mycelium.  The  walls  of  the  perithecia, 
rather  more  carbonaceous  than  membranaceous,  are  reticulated, 
reminding  one  of  the  conceptacles  of  Ery&iphe,  to  which  the 
perithecia  bear  considerable  resemblance.  The  ostiolum  is  so 

*  Cooke's  "Fungi  Britannic!  Exsiccati,"  No.  329,  under  the  name  of 
Sporidesmium  polymorphism  var.  chartarum. 

t  This  reminds  one  of  Preuss's  Alternaria,  figured  in  Sturm's  "Flora;"  it 
has  been  suggested  that  the  mould,  as  seen  when  examined  under  a  power  of 
320  diatn.,  is  very  much  like  a  Macrosporium.  Again  arises  the  question  of  the 
strings  of  spores  attached  end  to  end. 


252  FUNGI. 

obscure  that  we  doubt  its  existence,  and  hence  the  closer  affinity 
of  the  plant  to  the  Perisporiacei  than  to  the  Splicer iacei.  The 
interior  of  the  perithecium  is  occupied  by  a  gelatinous  nucleus, 
consisting  of  elongated  cylindrical  asci,  each  enclosing  eight 
globose  hyaline  sporidia,  with  slender  branched  paraphyses.  A 
new  genus  has  been  proposed  for  this  and  another  similar  form, 
and  the  present  species  bears  the  name  of  Orbicula  cyclospora.* 
The  most  singular  circumstance  connected  with  this  narrative 
is  the  presence  together  of  four  distinctly  different  species  of 
fungi,  all  of  them  previously  unknown  and  undescribed,  and  no 
trace  amongst  them  of  the  presence  of  any  one  of  the  very  common 
species,  which  would  be  supposed  to  develop  themselves  under 
such  circumstances.  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  for  Sporocybe 
alternata,  B.,  to  appear  in  broad  black  patches  on  damp  papered 
walls,  but  in  this  instance  not  a  trace  was  to  be  found.  What 
were  the  peculiar  conditions  present  in  this  instance  which  led 
to  the  manifestation  of  four  new  forms,  and  none  of  "the  old 
ones  ?  We  confess  that  we  are  unable  to  account  satisfactorily 
for  the  mystery,  but,  at  the  same  time,  feel  equally  unwilling  to 
invent  hypotheses  in  order  to  conceal  our  own  ignorance. 

*  "  Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  vol.  ii.  p.  926,  No.  2,788. 


XII. 

CULTIVATION". 

THE  cultivation  of  fungi  in  this  country  for  esculent  purposes 
is  confined  to  a  single  species,  and  yet  there  is  no  reason  why, 
by  a  series  of  well-conducted  experiments,  means  should  not 
be  devised  for  the  cultivation  of  others,  for  instance,  Maras- 
mius  oreadeSj  and  the  morel.  Efforts  have  been  made  on  the 
Continent  for  the  cultivation  of  truffles,  but  the  success  has 
hitherto  been  somewhat  doubtful.  For  the  growth  of  the  com- 
mon mushroom,  very  little  trouble  and  care  is  required,  and 
moderate  success  is  certain.  A  friend  of  ours  some  years  since 
was  fortunate  enough  to  have  one  or  two  specimens  of  the  large 
puff-ball,  Lycoperdon  giganteum,  growing  in  his  garden.  Know- 
ing its  value,  and  being  particularly  fond  of  it  when  fried  for 
breakfast,  he  was  anxious  to  secure  its  permanence.  The  spot 
on  which  the  specimens  appeared  was  marked  off  and  guarded, 
so  that  it  was  never  desecrated  by  the  spade,  and  the  soil 
remained  consequently  undisturbed.  Year  after  year,  so  long 
as  he  resided  on  the  premises,  he  counted  upon  and  gathered 
several  specimens  of  the  puff-ball,  the  mycelium  continuing  to 
produce  them  year  after  year.  All  parings,  fragments,  &c.,  not 
utilized  of  the  specimens  eaten  were  cast  on  this  spot  to  rot,  so 
that  some  of  the  elements  might  be  returned  to  the  soil.  This 
was  not  true  cultivation  perhaps,  as  the  fungus  had  first  estab- 
lished itself,  but  it  was  preservation,  and  had  its  reward.  It 
must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  size  and  number  of  speci- 
mens diminished  gradually,  probably  from  exhaustion  of  the 
soil.  This  fungus,  though  strong,  is  much  approved  by  many 
12 


254  FUNGI. 

palates,  and  its  cultivation  might  be  attempted.  Burying  a  ripe 
specimen  in  similar  soil,  and  watering  ground  with  the  spores, 
has  been  tried  without  success.  * 

As  to  the  methods  adopted  for  cultivation  of  the  common  mush- 
room, it  is  unnecessary  to  detail  them  here,  as  there  are  several 
special  treatises  devoted  to  the  subject,  in  which  the  particulars 
are  more  fully  given  than  the  limits  of  this  chapter  will  permit. f 
Recently,  M.  Chevreul  exhibited  at  the  French  Academy  some 
splendid  mushrooms,  said  to  have  been  produced  by  the  following 
method :  he  first  develops  the  mushrooms  by  sowing  spores  on 
a  pane  of  glass,  covered  with  wet  sand  ;  then  he  selects  the  most 
vigorous  individuals  from  among  them,  and  sows,  or  plants  their 
mycelium  in  a  cellar  in  a  damp  soil,  consisting  of  gardener's 
mould,  covered  with  a  layer  of  sand  and  gravel  two  inches  thick, 
and  another  layer  of  rubbish  from  demolitions,  about  an  inch  deep. 
The  bed  is  watered  with  a  diluted  solution  of  nitrate  of  potash, 
and  in  about  six  days  the  mushrooms  grow  to  an  enormous 
size.J  The  cultivation  of  mushrooms  for  the  market,  even  in 
this  country,  is  so  profitable,  that  curious  revelations  sometimes 
crop  up,  as  at  a  recent  trial  at  the  Sheriffs'  Court  for  compensa- 

*  Experiments  were  made  at  Belvoir,  by  Mr.  Ingram,  in  the  cultivation  of 
several  species  of  Ayaricini,  but  without  success,  and  a  similar  fate  attended 
some  spawn  of  a  very  superior  kind  from  the  Swan  River,  which  was  submitted 
to  the  late  Mr.  J.  Henderson.  No  result  was  obtained  at  Chiswick,  either  from 
the  cultivation  of  truffles  or  from  the  inoculation  of  grass-plots  with  excellent 
spawn.  Mr.  Disney's  experiments  at  the  Hyde,  near  Ingatestone,  were  made  with 
dried  truffles,  and  were  not  likely  to  succeed.  The  Yiscomte  Noe  succeeded  in 
obtaining  abundant  truffles,  in  an  enclosed  portion  of  a  wood  fenced  from  wild 
boars,  by  watering  the  ground  with  an  infusion  of  fresh  specimens  ;  but  it  is 
possible  that  as  this  took  place  in  a  truffle  country ,  there  might  have  been  a  crop 
without  any  manipulation.  Similar  trials,  and  it  is  said  successfully,  have  been 
made  with  .Boletus  edulis.  Specimens  of  prepared  truffle-spawn  were  sent  many 
years  since  to  the  "Gardener's  Chronicle,"  but  they  proved  useless,  if  indeed 
they  really  contained  any  reliable  spawn. 

f  Robinson,  "On  Mushroom  Culture,"  London,  1870.  Cuthill,  "On  the 
Cultivation  of  the  Mushroom,"  1861.  Abercrombie,  "The  Garden  Mushroom  ; 
its  Culture,  &c."  1802. 

t  This  has,  however,  not  been  confirmed,  and  is  considered  (how  justly  we 
cannot  say)  a  "  canard." 


CULTIVATION.  255 

tion  by  the  Metropolitan  Railway  Company  for  premises'  and 
business  of  a  nurseryman  at  Kensington.  The  Hailway  had 
taken  possession  of  a  mushroom- ground,  and  the  claim  for 
compensation  was  £716.  It  was  stated  in  evidence  that  the 
profits  on  mushrooms  amounted  to  100  or  150  per  cent.  One 
witness  said  if  £50  were  expended,  in  twelve  months,  or  perhaps 
in  six  months,  the  sum  realized  would  be  £200. 

Immense  quantities  of  mushrooms  are  produced  in  Paris,  as 
is  well  known,  in  caves,  and  interesting  accounts  have  been 
written  of  visits  to  these  subterranean  mushroom- vaults  of  the 
gay  city.  In  one  of  these  caves,  at  Montrouge,  the  proprietor 
gathers  largely  every  day,  occasionally  sending  more  than 
400  pounds  weight  per  day  to  market,  the  average  being 
about  300  pounds.  There  are  six  or  seven  miles'  run  of 
mushroom-beds  in  this  cave,  and  the  owner  is  only  one  of  a 
large  class  who  devote  themselves  to  the  culture  of  mushrooms. 
Large  quantities  of  preserved  mushrooms  are  exported,  one 
house  sending  to  England  not  less  than  14,000  boxes  in  a  year. 
Another  cave  near  Frepillon  was  in  full  force  in  1867,  sending 
as  many  as  3,000  pounds  of  mushrooms  to  the  Parisian  markets 
daily.  In  1867,  M.  Renaudot  had  over  twenty-one  miles  of 
mushroom-beds  in  one  great  cave  at  Mery,  and  in  1869  there 
were  sixteen  miles  of  beds  in  a  cave  at  Frepillon.  The  tem- 
perature of  these  caves  is  so  equal  that  the  cultivation  of  the 
mushroom  is  possible  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  but  the  best 
crops  are  gathered  in  the  winter. 

Mr.  Robinson  gives  an  excellent  account,  not  only  of  the  sub- 
terranean, but  also  of  the  open-air  culture  of  mushrooms  about 
Paris.  The  open-air  culture  is  never  pursued  in  Paris  during 
the  summer,  and  rarely  so  in  this  country.*  What  might  be 
termed  the  domestic  cultivation  of  mushrooms  is  easy,  that  is, 
the  growth  by  inexperienced  persons,  for  family  consumption,  of 
a  bed  of  mushrooms  in  cellars,  wood-houses,  old  tubs,  boxes,  or 
other  unconsidered  places.  Even  in  towns  and  cities  it  is  not 
impracticable,  as  horse-dung  can  always  be  obtained  from  mews 

*  This  method  is  pursued  with  great  success  by  Mr.  Ingram,  at  Belvoir,  and  by 
Mr.  Gilbert,  at  Burleigh. 


256  FUNGI. 

and  stables.  Certainly  fungi  are  never  so  harmless,  or  seldom 
so  delicious,  as  when  collected  from  the  bed,  and  cooked  at  once, 
before  the  slightest  chemical  change  or  deterioration  could  pos- 
sibly take  place. 

Mr.  Cuthill's  advice  may  be  repeated  here.  He  says: — "I 
must  not  forget  to  remind  the  cottager  that  it  would  be  a 
shilling  or  two  a  week  saved  to  him  during  the  winter,  if  he  had 
a  good  little  bed  of  mushrooms,  even  for  his  own  family,  to  say 
nothing  about  a  shilling  or  two  that  he  might  gain  by  selling  to 
his  neighbours.  I  can  assure  him  mushrooms  grow  faster  than 
pigs,  and  the  mushrooms  do  not  eat  anything ;  they  only  want 
a  little  attention.  Addressing  myself  to  the  working  classes,  I 
advise  them,  in  the  first  place,  to  employ  their  children  or  others 
collecting  horse-droppings  along  the  highway,  and  if  mixed  with 
a  little  road-sand,  so  much  the  better.  They  must  be  deposited 
in  a  heap  during  summer,  and  trodden  firmly.  They  will  heat 
a  little,  but  the  harder  they  are  pressed  the  less  they  will  heat. 
Over-heating  must  be  guarded  against ;  if  the  watch  or  trial 
stick  which  is  inserted  into  them  gets  too  hot  for  the  hand  to 
bear,  the  heat  is  too  great,  and  will  destroy  the  spawn.  In  that 
case  artificial  spawn  must  be  used  when  the  bed  is  made  up,  but 
this  expedient  is  to  be  avoided  on  account  of  the  expense.  The 
easiest  way  for  a  cottager  to  save  his  own  spawn  would  be  to 
do  so  when  he  destroys  his  old  bed  ;  he  will  find  all  round  the 
edges  or  driest  parts  of  the  dung  one  mass  of  superior  spawn ; 
let  him  keep  this  carefully  in  a  very  dry  place,  and  when  he 
makes  up  his  next  bed  it  can  then  be  mixed  with  his  summer 
droppings,  and  will  insure  a  continuance  and  excellent  crop. 
These  little  collections  of  horse- droppings  and  road-sand,  if  kept 
dry  in  shed,  hole,  or  corner,  under  cover,  will  in  a  short  time 
generate  plenty  of  spawn,  and  will  be  ready  to  be  spread  on  the 
surface  of  the  bed  in  early  autumn,  say  by  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember or  sooner.  The  droppings  during  the  winter  must  be 
put  into  a  heap,  and  allowed  to  heat  gently,  say  up  to  eighty  or 
ninety  degrees ;  then  they  must  be  turned  over  twice  .daily  to 
let  off  the  heat  and  steam ;  if  this  is  neglected  the  natural  spawn 
of  the  droppings  is  destroyed.  The  cottager  should  provide 


CULTIVATION.  257 

himself  with  a  few  barrowfuls  of  strawy  dung  to  form  the 
foundation  of  his  bed,  so  that  the  depth,  when  all  is  finished,  be 
not  less  than  a  foot.  Let  the  temperature  be  up  to  milk  heat. 
He  will  then,  when  quite  sure  that  the  bed  will  not  overheat,  put 
on  his  summer  droppings.  By  this  time  these  will  be  one  mass 
of  natural  spawn,  having  a  grey  mouldy  and  thready  appear- 
ance, and  a  smell  like  that  of  mushrooms.  Let  all  be  pressed 
very  hard  ;  then  let  mould,  unsifted,  be  put  on,  to  the  thickness 
of  four  inches,  and  trodden  down  hard  with  the  feet  and  watered 
all  over ;  and  the  back  of  a  spade  may  now  be  used  to  make  it 
still  harder,  as  well  as  to  plaster  the  surface  all  over."  *  Mush- 
rooms are  cultivated  very  extensively  by  Mr.  Ingrain,  at  Belvoir, 
without  artificial  spawn.  There  is  a  great  riding-house  there,  in 
which  the  litter  is  ground  down  by  the  horses'  feet  into  very 
small  shreds.  These  are  placed  in  a  heap  and  turned  over  once 
or  twice  during  the  season,  when  a  large  quantity  of  excellent 
spawn  is  developed  which,  placed  in  asparagus  beds  or  laid  under 
thin  turf,  produces  admirable  mushrooms,  in  the  latter  case  as 
clean  as  in  our  best  pastures.")" 

Other  species  will  sometimes  be  seen  growing  on  mushroom- 
beds  besides  the  genuine  mushroom,  the  spawn  in  such  cases 
being  probably  introduced  with  the  materials  employed.  We 
have  seen  a  pretty  crisped  variety  of  Agaricus  dealbatus  growing 
in  profusion  in  such  a  place,  and  devoured  it  accordingly.  Some- 
times the  mushrooms  will,  when  in  an  unhealthy  condition,  be 
subject  to  the  ravages  of  parasitic  species  of  mould,  or  perhaps 
of  Hypomyces.  Xylaria  vaporaria  has,  in  more  than  one  instance, 
usurped  the  place  of  mushrooms.  Mr.  Berkeley  has  received 
abundant  specimens  in  the  Sclerotioid  state,  which  he  succeeded 
in  developing  in  sand  under  a  bell  glass.  Of  course  under  such 
conditions  there  is  much  loss.  The  little  fairy-ring  champignon 
is  an  excellent  and  useful  species,  and  it  is  a  great  pity  that 
some  effort  should  not  be  made  to  procure  it  by  cultivation.  In 

*  Cuthill,  "  Treatise  on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Mushroom,"  p.  9. 

f1  Mr.  Berkeley  lately  recommended,  at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Horticul- 
tural Society  at  South  Kensington,  that  the  railway  arches  should  be  utilized  for 
the  cultivation  of  mushrooms. 


258  FUNGI. 

Italy  a  kind  of  Polyporus,  unknown  in  this  country,  is  obtained 
by  watering  the  Pietra  funghaia,  or  fungus  stone,  a  sort  of  tufa 
impregnated  with  mycelium.  The  Polypori,  it  is  said,  take  seven 
days  to  come  to  perfection,  and  may  be  obtained  from  the  foster 
mass,  if  properly  moistened,  six  times  a  year.  There  are  speci- 
mens which  were  fully  developed  in  Mr.  Lee's  nursery  at  Ken- 
sington many  years  since.  Another  fungus  is  obtained  from  the 
pollard  head  of  the  black  poplar.  Dr.  Badham  says  that  it  is 
usual  to  remove  these  heads  at  the  atter  end  of  autumn,  as  soon 
as  the  vintage  is  over,  and  their  marriage  with  the  vine  is 
annulled  ;  hundreds  of  such  heads  are  then  cut  and  transported 
to  different  parts ;  they  are  abundantly  watered  during  the  first 
month,  and  in  a  short  time  produce  that  truly  delicious  fungus 
Agaricus  caudicinus,  which,  during  the  autumn  of  the  year,  makes 
the  greatest  show  in  the  Italian  market-places.  These  pollard 
blocks  continue  to  bear  for  from  twelve  to  fourteen  years. 

Another  fungus,  which  Dr.  Badham  himself  reared  (Polyporus 
avellanus),  is  procured  by  singeing,  over  a  handful  of  straw,  a 
block  of  the  cob-nut  tree,  which  is  then  watered  and  put  by. 
In  about  a  month  the  fungi  make  their  appearance,  and  are 
quite  white,  of  from  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  ex- 
cellent to  eat,  while  their  profusion  is  sometimes  so  great  as 
entirely  to  hide  the  wood  from  whence  they  spring.*  It  has 
been  said  that  Boletus  edulis  may  be  propagated  by  watering 
the  ground  with  a  watery  infusion  of  the  plants,  but  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  this  method  having  been  pursued  with  success. 

The  culture  of  truffles  has  been  partially  attempted,  on  the 
principle  that,  in  some  occult  manner,  certain  trees  produced 
truffles  beneath  their  shade.  It  is  true  that  truffles  are  found 
under  trees  of  special  kinds,  for  Mr.  Broome  remarks  that  some 
trees  appear  more  favourable  to  the  production  of  truffles  than 
others.  Oak  and  hornbeam  are  specially  mentioned ;  but,  be- 
sides these,  chestnut,  birch,  box,  and  hazel  are  alluded  to.  He 
generally  found  Tuber  oestivum  under  beech- trees,  but  also  under 
hazel,  Tuber  macrosporum  under  oaks,  and  Tuber  brumale  under 

*  Badham,  "Esculent  Funguses,"  1st  ed.  p.  43. 


CULTIVATION.  259 

oaks  and  abele.  The  men  who  collect  truffles  for  Covent  Gar- 
den Market  obtain  them  chiefly  under  beech,  and  in  mixed 
plantations  of  fir  and  beech.* 

Some  notion  may  be  obtained  of  the  extent  to  which  the  trade 
of  truffles  is  carried  in  France,  when  we  learn  that  in  the  market 
of  Apt  alone  about  3,500  pounds  of  truffles  are  exposed  for  sale 
every  week  during  the  height  of  the  season,  and  the  quantity 
sold  during  the  winter  reaches  upwards  of  60,000  pounds,  whilst 
the  Department  of  Vaucluse  yields  annually  upwards  of  60,000 
pounds.  It  may  be  interesting  here  to  state  that  the  value  of 
truffles  is  so  great  in  Italy  that  precautions  are  taken  against 
truffle  poachers,  much  in  the  same  way  as  against  game  poachers 
in  England.  They  train  their  dogs  so  skilfully  that,  while  they 
stand  on  the  outside  of  the  truffle  grounds,  the  dogs  go  in  and 
dig  for  the  fungi.  Though  there  are  multitudes  of  species, 
they  bring  out  those  only  which  are  of  market  value.  Some 
dogs,  however,  are  employed  by  botanists,  which  will  hunt  for 
any  especial  species  that  may  be  shown  to  them.  The  great 
difficulty  is  to  prevent  them  devouring  the  truffles,  of  which 
they  are  very  fond.  The  best  dogs,  indeed,  are  true  retrievers. 

The  Count  de  Borch  -and  M.  de  Bornholz  give  the  chief  ac- 
counts of  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  towards  the  cultivation 
of  these  fungi.  They  state  that  a  compost  is  prepared  of  pure 
mould  and  vegetable  soil  mixed  with  dry  leaves  and  sawdust,  in 
which,  when  properly  moistened,  mature  truffles  are  placed  in 
winter,  either  whole  or  in  fragments,  and  that  after  the  lapse  of 
some  time  small  truffles  are  found  in  the  compost,  f  The  most 
successful  plan  consists  in  sowing  acorns  over  a  considerable 
extent  of  land  of  a  calcareous  nature ;  and  when  the  young  oaks 
have  attained  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  truffles  are  found 
in  the  intervals  between  the  trees.  This  process  was  carried  on 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Loudun,  where  truffle-beds  had  formerly 
existed,  but  where  they  had  long  ceased  to  be  productive — a  fact 
indicating  the  aptitude  of  the  soil  for  the  purpose.  In  this  case 

*  Broome,  "On  Truffle  Culture,"  in  "  Journ.  Hort.  Soc."  i.  p.  15  (1866). 
f  No  faith,  however,  is,  in  general,  placed  on  these  treatises,  as  they  were 
merely  conjectural. 


260  FUNGI. 

no  attempt  was  made  to  produce  truffles  by  placing  ripe  speci- 
mens in  the  earth,  but  they  sprang  up  themselves  from  spores 
probably  contained  in  the  soil.  The  young  trees  were  left 
rather  wide  apart,  and  were  cut,  for  the  first  time,  about  the 
twelfth  year  after  sowing,  and  afterwards  at  intervals  of  from 
seven  to  nine  years.  Truffles  were  thus  obtained  for  a  period 
of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years,  after  which  the  plantations 
ceased  to  be  productive,  owing,  it  was  said,  to  the  ground  being 
too  much  shaded  by  the  branches  of  the  young  trees.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  the  Messrs.  Tulasne  that  the  regular  cultivation  of 
the  truffle  in  gardens  can  never  be  so  successful  as  this  so-called 
indirect  culture  at  Loudun,  but  they  think  that  a  satisfactory 
result  might  be  obtained  in  suitable  soils  by  planting  fragments 
of  mature  truffles  in  wooded  localities,  taking  care  that  the  other- 
conditions  of  the  spots  selected  should  be  analogous  to  those  of 
the  regular  truffle-grounds,  and  they  recommend  a  judicious 
thinning  of  the  trees  and  clearing  the  surface  from  brushwood, 
etc.,  which  prevents  at  once  the  beneficial  efTccts  of  rain  and  of 
the  direct  sun's  rays.  A  truffle  collector  stated  to  Mr.  Broome 
that  whenever  a  plantation  of  beech,  or  beech  and  fir,  is  made  on 
the  chalk  districts  of  Salisbury  Plain,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few 
vears  truffles  are  produced,  and  that  these  plantations  continue 
productive  for  a  period  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  years,  after  which 
they  cease  to  be  so. 

M.  Grasparin  reported  to  the  jurors  of  the  Paris  Exhibition  of 
1855,  concerning  the  operations  of  M.  Rousseau,  of  Carpentras, 
on  the  production  of  oak  truffles  in  France.  The  acorns  of  ever- 
green and  of  common  oaks  were  sown  about  five  yards  apart. 
In  the  fourth  year  of  the  plantation  three  truffles  were  found  ;  at 
the  date  of  the  report  the  trees  were  nine  years  old,  and  over  a 
yard  in  height.  Sows  were  employed  to  search  for  the  truffles. 
Although  these  plantations  consist  both  of  the  evergreen  and 
common  oak,  truffles  cannot  be  gathered  at  the  base  of  the  latter 
species,  it  so  happening  that  it  arrives  later  at  a  state  of  pro- 
duction. The  common  oak,  however,  produces  truffles  like  the 
evergreen  oak,  this  report  states,  for  a  great  number  of  tho 
natural  truffle-grounds  at  Yaucluse  are  planted  with  common 


CULTIVATION.  261 

oaks.  It  is  remarked  that  the  truffles  produced  from  ,  these 
are  larger  but  less  regular  than  those  of  the  evergreen  oak, 
which  are  smaller,  but  nearly  always  spherical.  The  truffles  are 
gathered  at  two  periods  of  the  year ;  in  May  only  white  truffles 
are  to  be  found,  which  never  blacken  and  have  no  odour ;  they 
are  dried  and  sold  for  seasoning.  The  black  truffles  (Tuber 
tnelanosporum)  commence  forming  in  June,  enlarging  towards 
the  frosty  season ;  then  they  become  hard,  and  acquire  all  their 
perfume.  They  are  dug  a  month  before  and  a  month  after 
Christmas.  It  is  also  asserted  that  truffles  are  produced  about 
the  vine,  or  at  any  rate  that  the  association  of  the  vine  is 
favourable  to  the  production  of  truffles,  because  truffle-plots  near 
vines  are  very  productive.  The  observation  of  this  decided 
M.  Rousseau  to  plant  a  row  of  vines  between  the  oaks.  The 
result  of  this  experiment  altogether  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  by  any  means  flattering,  for  at  the  end  of  eight  years  only 
little  more  than  fifteen  pounds  were  obtained  from  a  hectare  of 
land,  which,  if  valued  at  45  francs,  would  leave  very  little  profit. 
M.  Rousseau  also  called  attention  to  a  meadow  manured  (sic} 
with  parings  of  truffles,  which  was  said  to  have  given  prodigious 
results. 

The  cultivation  of  minute  fungi  for  scientific  purposes  has 
been  incidentally  alluded  to  and  illustrated  in  foregoing  chapters, 
and  consequently  will  not  require  such  full  and  particular  details 
here.  Somewhat  intermediately,  we  might  allude  to  the  species 
of  Sclerotium,  which  are  usually  compact,  externally  blackish, 
rounded  or  amorphous  bodies,  consisting  of  a  cellular  mass  of 
the  nature  of  a  concentrated  mycelium.  Placed  in  favourable 
conditions,  these  forms  of  Sclerotium  will  develop  the  peculiar 
species  of  fungus  belonging  to  them,  but  in  certain  cases  the 
production  is  more  rapid  and  easy  than  in  others.  In  this 
country,  Mr.  F.  Currey  has  been  the  most  successful  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  Sclerotia.  The  method  adopted  is  to  keep  them  in 
a  moist,  somewhat  warm,  but  equable  atmosphere,  and  with 
patience  await  the  results.  The  well-known  ergot  of  rye,  wheat, 
and  other  grasses  may  be  so  cultivated,  and  Mr.  Currey  has 
developed  the  ergot  of  the  common  reed  by  keeping  the  stem 


2G2  FUNGI. 

immersed  in  water.  The  final  conditions  are  small  clavate  bodies 
of  the  order  Sphceriacei,  belonging  to  the  genus  Claviceps.  The 
Sclerotium  of  the  Eleocharis  has  been  found  in  this  country,  but 
we  are  not  aware  that  the  Claviceps  developed  from  it  has  been 
met  with  or  induced  by  cultivation.  One  method  recommended 
for  this  sort  of  experiment  is  to  fill  a  garden-pot  half  full  of 
crocks,  over  which  to  place  sphagnum  broken  up  until  the  pot  in 
nearly  full,  on  this  to  place  the  Sclerotia,  and  cover  with  silver 
sand ;  if  the  pot  is  kept  standing  in  a  pan  of  water  in  a  warm 
room,  it  is  stated  that  production  will  ensue.  Ergot  of  the 
grasses  will  not  always  develop  under  these  conditions,  but 
perseverance  may  ultimately  ensure  success. 

A  species  of  Sclerotium  on  the  gills  of  dead  Agarics  originates 
Agaricus  tuberosus,  another  Agaricus  cirrhatus*  but  this  should 
be  kept  in  situ  when  cultivated  artificially,  and  induced  to 
develop  whilst  still  attached  to  the  rotten  Agarics.  Peziza  tube- 
rosa,  in  like  manner,  is  developed  from  Sclerotia,  usually  found 
buried  in  the  ground  in  company  with  the  roots  of  Anemone 
nemorosa.  At  one  time  it  was  supposed  that  some  relationship 
existed  between  the  roots  of  the  anemone  and  the  Sclerotia. 
From  another  Sclerotium,  found  in  the  stems  of  bulrushes,  Mr. 
Currey  has  developed  a  species  of  Peziza,  which  has  been  named 
P.  Curreyana.\  This  Peziza  has  been  found  growing  naturally 
from  the  Sclerotia  imbedded  in  the  tissue  of  common  rushes. 
De  Bary  has  recorded  the  development  of  Peziza  Fuclceliana 
from  a  Sclerotium  of  which  the  conidia  take  the  form  of  a  species 
of  Polyactis.  Peziza  ciborioides  is  developed  from  a  Sclerotium 
found  amongst  dead  leaves  ;  and  recently  we  have  received  from 
the  United  States  an  allied  Peziza  which  originated  from  the 
Sclerotia  found  on  the  petals  of  Magnolia,  and  which  has  been 
named  Peziza  gracilipes,  Cooke,  from  its  very  slender,  thread- 
like stem.  Other  species  of  Peziza  are  also  known  to  be 
developed  from  similar  bases,  and  these  Fuckel  has  associated 

*  Dr.  Bull  has  been  very  successful  in  developing  the  Sclerotium,  of  Agaricus 
cirrhatus. 

f  Currey,  "  On  Development  of  Sclerotium  roseum,"  in  "Journ.  Linn.  Soc." 
vol.  i.  p.  143. 


CULTIVATION.  263 

together  under  a  proposed  new  genus  with  the  name  of  Sclero- 
tinia.  Two  or  three  species  of  Typhula,  in  like  manner,  spring 
from  forms  of  Sclerotium,  long  known  as  Sclerotium  compla- 
natum  and  Sclerotium  scutellatum.  Other  forms  of  Sclerotium 
are  known,  from  one  of  which,  found  in  a  mushroom-bed,  Mr. 
Currey  developed  Xylaria-  vaporaria,  B.,  by  placing  it  on  damp 
sand  covered  with  a  bell  glass.*  Others,  again,  are  only  known 
in  the  sclerotioid  state,  such  as  the  Sclerotium  stipitatum  found  in 
the  nests  of  white  ants  in  South  Iiidia.t  From  what  is  already 
known,  however,  we  feel  justified  in  the  conclusion  that  the 
so-called  species  of  Sclerotium  are  a  sort  of  compact  mycelium, 
from  which,  under  favourable  conditions,  perfect  fungi  may  be 
developed.  Mr.  Berkeley  succeeded  in  raising  from  the  minute 
Sclerotium  of  onions,  which  looks  like  grains  of  coarse  gun- 
powder, a  species  of  Mucor.  This  was  accomplished  by  placing 
a  thin  slice  of  the  Sclerotium  in  a  drop  of  wat6r  under  a  glass 
slide,  surrounded  by  a  pellicle  of  air,  and  luted  to  prevent 
evaporation  and  external  influences. J 

As  to  the  cultivation  of  moulds  and  Mucors,  one  great  diffi- 
cult}^ has  to  be  encountered  in  the  presence  or  introduction  of 
foreign  spores  to  the  matrix  employed  for  their  development. 
Bearing  this  in  mind,  extensive  cultivations  may  be  made,  but 
the  conditions  must  influence  the  decision  upon  the  results. 
Rice  paste  has  been  used  with  advantage  for  sowing  the  spores 
of  moulds,  afterwards  keeping  them  covered  from  external  in- 
fluences. In  cultivation  on  rice  paste  of  rare  species,  the 
experimenter  is  often  perplexed  by  the  more  rapid  growth  of 
the  common  species  of  Mucor  and  Penicillium.  Mr.  Berkeley 
succeeded  in  developing  up  to  a  certain  point  the  fungus  of  the 
Madura  Foot,  but  though  perfect  sporangia  were  produced,  the 
farther  development  was  masked  by  the  outgrowth  of  other 
species.  In  like  manner,  orange  juice,  cut  surfaces  of  fruits, 

*  Currey,  in  "Linn.  Trans."  xxiv.  pi.  25,  figs.  17,  26. 

+  Berkeley,  "On  Two  Tuberiform  Veg.  Productions  from  Travancore,"  in 
"Trans.  Linn.  Soc."  vol.  xxiii.  p.  91. 

J  Berkeley,  "  On  a  Peculiar  Form  of  Mildew  in  Onions,"  "  Journ.  Hort.  Soc." 
vol.  iii  p.  91. 


261  FUNGI. 

slices  of  potato  tubers,  etc.,  have  been  employed.  Fresh  horse- 
dung,  placed  under  a  bell  glass  and  kept  in  a  humid  atmosphere, 
will  soon  be  covered  with  Mucor,  and  in  like  manner  the  growth 
of  common  moulds  upon  decayed  fruit  may  be  watched  ;  but  this 
can  hardly  be  termed  cultivation  unless  the  spores  of  some  indi- 
vidual species  are  sown.  Different  sohitions  have  been  proposed 
for  the  growth  of  such  conditions  as  the  cells  which  induce  fer- 
mentation, to  which  yeast  plants  belong.  A  fly  attacked  by 
Empusa  muscte,  if  immersed  in  water,  will  develop  one  of  the 
Saprolegnia. 

The  Uredines  and  other  epiphyllons  Coniomycetes  will  readily 
germinate  by  placing  the  leaf  which  bears  them  on  damp  sand, 
or  keeping  them  in  a  humid  atmosphere.  Messrs.  Tulasne  and 
De  Bary  have,  in  their  numerous  memoirs,  detailed  the  methods 
adopted  by  them  for  different  species,  both  for  germination  of 
the  pseudospor*es  and  for  impregnating  healthy  foster  plants. 
The  germination  of  the  pseudospores  of  the  species  of  Podi- 
soma  may  easily  be  induced,  and  secondary  fruits  obtained.  The 
germination  of  the  spores  of  Tilletia  is  more  difficult  to  accom- 
plish, but  this  may  be  achieved.  Mr.  Berkeley  found  no  difficulty, 
and  had  the  stem  impregnated  as  well  as  the  germen.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  pseudospores  of  Cystopus,  when  sown  in  water 
on  a  slip  of  glass,  will  soon  produce  the  curious  little  zoospores 
in  the  manner  already  described. 

The  sporidia  of  the  Discomycetes,  and  some  of  the  SpJiferiacei, 
germinate  readily  in  a  drop  of  water  on  a  slip  of  glass,  although 
not  proceeding  further  than  the  protrusion  of  germ-tubes.  A 
form  of  slide  has  been  devised  for  growing  purposes,  in  which 
the  large  covering  glass  is  held  in  position,  and  one  end  of  the 
slip  being  kept  immersed  in  a  vessel  of  water,  capillary  attrac- 
tion keeps  up  the  supply  for  an  indefinite  period,  so  that  there  is 
no  fear  of  a  check  from  the  evaporation  of  the  fluid.  Even  when 
saccharine  solutions  are  employed  this  method  may  be  adopted. 

The  special  cultivation  of  the  Peronosporei  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  Professor  De  Bary  for  a  long  time,  and  his  experiences 
are  detailed  in  his  memoir  on  that  group,*  but  which  are  too 
*  De  Bary,  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4th  series,  vol.  xx. 


CULTIVATION.  265 

long  for  quotation  here,  except  his  observations  on  the  develop- 
ment of  the  threads  of  Peronospora  infest ans  on  the  cut  surface 
of  the  tubers  of  diseased  potatoes.  When  a  diseased  potato  is 
cut  and  sheltered  from  dessication,  the  surface  of  the  slice  covers 
itself  with  the  mycelium  and  conidiiferous  branches  of  Perono- 
spora, and  it  can  easily  be  proved  that  these  organs  originate 
from  the  intercellulary  tabes  of  the  brown  tissue.  The  mycelium 
that  is  developed  upon  these  slices  is  ordinarily  very  vigorous ; 
it  often  constitutes  a  cottony  mass  of  a  thickness  of  many  milli- 
metres, and  it  gives  out  conidiiferous  branches,  often  partitioned, 
and  larger  and  more  branched  than  those  observed  on  the  leaves. 

O 

The  appearance  of  these  fertile  branches  ordinarily  takes  place 
at  the  end  of  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours  ;  sometimes, 
nevertheless,  one  must  wait  for  many  days.  These  phenomena 
are  observed  in  all  the  diseased  tubercles  without  exception,  so 
long  as  they  have  not  succumbed  to  putrefaction,  which  arrests 
the  development  of  the  parasite  and  kills  it. 

Young  plants  of  the  species  liable  to  attack  may  be  inoculated 
with  the  conidia  of  the  species  of  Peronospora  usually  developed 
on  that  particular  host,  in  the  same  manner  that  young  cruci- 
ferous plants,  watered  with  an  infusion  of  the  spores  of  Cystopus 
candidus,  will  soon  exhibit  evidence  of  attack  from  the  white 
rust. 

It  is  to  the  cultivation  and  close  investigation  of  the  growth 
and  metamorphoses  of  the  minute  fungi  that  we  must  look  for 
the  most  important  additions  which  have  yet  to  be  made  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  life- history  of  these  most  complex  and  interest- 
ing organisms. 


XIII. 

GEOGEAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION. 

UNFORTUNATELY  no  complete  or  satisfactory  account  can  be  given 
of  the  geographical  distribution  of  fungi.  The  younger  Fries,* 
with  all  the  facilities  at  his  disposal  which  the  lengthened 
experience  and  large  collections  of  his  father  afforded,  could  only 
give  a  very  imperfect  outline,  and  now  we  can  add  very  little 
to  what  he  has  given.  The  cause  of  this  difficulty  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  Mycologic  Flora  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  world 
remains  unexplored,  not  only  in  remote  regions,  but  even  in 
civilized  countries  where  the  Phanerogamic  Flora  is  well  known. 
Europe,  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales  are  as  well  explored  as 
any  other  country,  but  Ireland  is  comparatively  unknown,  no 
complete  collection  having  ever  been  made,  or  any  at  least 
published.  Scandinavia  has  also  been  well  examined,  and  the 
northern  portions  of  France,  with  Belgium,  some  parts  of  Ger- 
many and  Austria,  in  Russia  the  neighbourhood  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  parts  of  Italy  and  Switzerland.  Turkey  in  Europe, 
nearly  all  Russia,  Spain,  and  Portugal  a/re  almost  unknown.  As 
to  North  America,  considerable  advances  have  been  made  since 
Schweinitz  by  Messrs.  Curtis  and  Ravenel,  but  their  collections 
in  Carolina  cannot  be  supposed  to  represent  the  whole  of  the 
United  States ;  the  small  collections  made  in  Texas,  Mexico, 
etc.,  only  serve  to  show  the  richness  of  the  country,  not  yet  half 
exhausted.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  young  race  of  botanists 
in  the  United  States  will  apply  themselves  to  the  task  of  investi- 

*  Mr.  E.  P.  Fries,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  1861,  xv.  p.  10. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTBIBUTION.  267 

gating  the  Mycologic  Flora  of  this  rich  and  fertile  region..  In 
Central  America  very  small  and  incomplete  collections  have  as 
yet  been  made,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  South  America  and 
Canada.  Of  the  whole  extent  of  the  New  World,  only  the 
Carolina  States  of  North  America  can  really  be  said  to  be  satis- 
factorily known.  Asia  is  still  less  known,  the  whole  of  our  vast 
Indian  Empire  being  represented  by  the  collections  made  by 
Dr.  Hooker  in  the  Sikkim  Himalayas,  and  a  few  isolated  speci- 
mens from  other  parts.  Ceylon  has  recently  been  removed  from 
the  category  of  the  unknown  by  the  publication  of  its  Mycologic 
Flora.*  All  that  is  known  of  Java  is  supplied  by  the  researches 
of  Junghuhn;  whilst  all  the  rest  is  completely  unknown,  includ- 
ing China,  Japan,  Siam,  the  Malayan  Peninsula,  Burmah,  and 
the  whole  of  the  countries  in  the  north  and  west  of  India.  A 
little  is  known  of  the  Philippines,  and  the  Indian  Archipelago, 
but  this  knowledge  is  too  fragmentary  to  be  of  much  service. 
In  Africa  no  part  has  been  properly  explored,  with  the  exception 
of  Algeria,  although  something  is  known  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  and  Natal.  The  Australasian  Islands  are  better  repre- 
sented in  the  Floras  published  of  those  regions.  Cuba  and  the 
West  Indies  generally  are  moderately  well  known  from  the 
collections  of  Mr.  C.  Wright,  which  have  been  recorded  in  the 
journal  of  the  Linncean  Society,  and  in  the  same  journal  Mr. 
Berkeley  has  described  many  Australian  species. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  summary  how  unsatisfactory 
it  must  be  to  give  anything  like  a  general  view  of  the  geographi- 
cal distribution  of  fungi,  or  to  estimate  at  all  approximately 
the  number  of  species  on  the  globe.  Any  attempt,  therefore, 
must  be  made  and  accepted  subject  to  the  limitations  we  have 
expressed. 

The  conditions  which  determine  the  distribution  of  fungi  are 
not  precisely  those  which  determine  the  distribution  of  the 
higher  plants.  In  the  case  of  the  parasitic  species  they  may  be 
said  to  follow  the  distribution  of  their  foster-plants,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  rust,  smut,  and  mildew  of  the  cultivated  cereals, 

*  Berkeley  and  Broome,  "Enumeration  of  the  Fungi  of  Ceylon,"  in  "Journ. 
Linn.  Soc."  xiv.  Nos.  73,  74,  1873. 


2G8  FUNGI. 

which  have  followed  those  grains  wherever  they  have  been 
distributed,  and  the  potato  disease,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
known  in  the  native  region  of  the  potato  plant  before  it  made 
its  appearance  in  Europe.  We  might  also  allude  to  Puccinia 
malvacearum^  Ca.,  which  was  first  made  known  as  a  South 
American  species ;  it  then  travelled  to  Australia,  and  at  length 
to  Europe,  reaching  England  the  next  year  after  it  was  recorded 
on  the  Continent.  In  the  same  manner,  so  far  as  we  have  the 
means  of  knowing,  Puccinia  Apii,  Ca.,  was  known  on  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe  for  some  time  before  it  was  detected  on  the 
celery  plants  in  this  country.  Experience  seems  to  warrant  the 
conclusion  that  if  a  parasite  affects  a  certain  plant  within 
a  definite  area,  it  will  extend  in  time  beyond  that  area  to 
other  countries  where  the  foster-plant  is  found.  This  view 
accounts  in  some  part  for  the  discovery  of  species  in  this  country, 
year  after  year,  which  had  not  been  recorded  before ;  some 
allowance  being  made  for  the  fact  that  an  increased  number  of 
observers  and  collectors  may  cause  the  search  to  be  more  com- 
plete, yet  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  migration  of  Continental 
species  must  to  some  extent  be  going  on,  or  how  can  it  be 
accounted  for  that  such  large  and  attractive  fungi  as  Sparassis 
crispa,  Helvellas  gigas,  and  JULorchella  crassipes  had  never  been 
recorded  till  recently,  or  amongst  parasitic  species  such  as  the 
two  species  of  Puccinia  above  named  ?  In  the  same  manner  it 
is  undoubtedly  true  that  species  which  at  one  time  were  common 
gradually  become  somewhat  rare,  and  at  length  nearly  extinct. 
We  have  observed  this  to  apply  to  the  larger  species  as  well  as 
to  the  microscopic  in  definite  localities.  For  instance,  Crater- 
ellus  cornucopioides  some  ten  years  ago  appeared  in  one  wood, 
at  a  certain  spot,  by  hundreds,  whereas  during  the  past  three  or 
four  years  we  have  failed  to  find  a  single  specimen.  As  many 
years  since,  and  in  two  places,  where  the  goafs-beard  was  abun- 
dant, as  it  is  now,  we  found  nearly  half  the  flowering  heads 
infested  with  Ustilago  receptaculorttm,  but  for  the  past  two  or 
three  years,  although  we  have  sought  it  industriously,  not  a 
single  specimen  could  be  found.  It  is  certain  that  plants  found 
by  Dickson,  Bolton,  and  Sowerby,  have  not  been  detected  since, 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION.  2G9 

whilst  it  is  not  improbable  that  species  common  with  us  may  be 
very  rare  fifty  years  hence.  In  this  manner  it  would  really 
appear  that  fungi  are  much  more  liable  than  flowering  plants  to 
shift- their  localities,  or  increase  and  diminish  in  number. 

The  fleshy  fungi,  Agaricini  and  Boleti  especially,  are  largely 
dependent  upon  the  character  of  woods  and  forests.  When  the 
undergrowth  of  a  wood  is  cleared  away,  as  it  often  is  every  few 
years,  it  is  easy  to  observe  a  considerable  difference  in  the  fungi. 
Species  seem  to  change  places,  common  ones  amongst  a  dense 
undergrowth  are  rare  or  disappear  with  the  copse  wood,  and 
others  not  observed  before  take  their  place.  Some  species,  too, 
are  peculiar  to  certain  woods,  such  as  beech  woods  and  fir  woods, 
and  their  distribution  will  consequently  depend  very  much 
on  the  presence  or  absence  of  such  woods.  Epiphytal  species, 
such  as  Agaricus  ulmarius,  Agaricus  mucidus,  and  a  host  of 
others,  depend  on  circumstances  which  do  not  influence  the 
distribution  of  flowering  plants.  It  may  be  assumed  that 
such  species  as  flourish  in  pastures  and  open  places  are  subject 
to  fewer  adverse  conditions  than  those  which  affect  woods  and 
forests. 

Any  one  who  has  observed  any  locality  with  reference  to  its 
Mycologic  Flora  over  a  period  of  years  will  have  been  struck 
with  the  difference  in  number  and  variety  caused  by  what  may 
be  termed  a  "  favourable  season,"  that  is,  plenty  of  moisture  in 
August  with  warm  weather  afterwards.  Although  we  know  but 
little  of  the  conditions  of  germination  in  Agarics,  it  is  but 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  succession  of  dry  seasons  will  con- 
siderably influence  the  flora  of  any  locality.  Heat  and  humidity, 
therefore,  are  intimately  concerned  in  the  mycologic  vegetation 
of  a  country.  Fries  has  noted  in  his  essay  the  features  to  which 
we  have  alluded.  "  The  fact,"  he  says,  "  must  not  be  lost  sight 
of  that  some  species  of  fungi  which  have  formerly  been  common 
in  certain  localities  may  become,  within  our  lifetime,  more  and 
more  scarce,  and  even  altogether  cease  to  grow  there.  The 
cause  of  this,  doubtless,  is  the  occurrence  of  some  change  in  tho 
physical  constitution  of  a  locality,  such  as  that  resulting  from 
the  destruction  of  a  forest,  or  from  the  drainage,  by  ditches  and 


270  FUNGI. 

• 

cuttings,  of  more  or  less  extensive  swamps,  or  from  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil — all  of  them  circumstances  which  cause  the 
destruction  of  the  primitive  fungaceous  vegetation  and  the  pro- 
duction of  a  new  one.  If  we  compare  the  fungal  flora  of  America 
with  that  of  European  countries,  we  observe  that  the  former 
equals,  in  its  richness  and  the  variety  of  its  forms,  that  of  the 
phanerogamous  flora;  it  is  probable,  however,  that,  in  the 
lapse  of  more  or  fewer  years,  this  richness  will  decrease,  in 
consequence  of  the  extension  of  cultivation — as  is  illustrated, 
indeed,  in  what  has  already  taken  place  in  the  more  thickly 
peopled  districts,  as,  for  example,  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York." 

Although  heat  and  humidity  influence  all  kinds  of  vegetation, 
yet  heat  seems  to  exert  a  less,  and  humidity  a  greater,  influence 
on  fungi  than  on  other  plants.  It  is  chiefly  during  the  cool 
moist  autumnal  weather  that  the  fleshy  fungi  flourish  most 
vigorously  in  our  own  country,  and  we  observe  their  number  to 
increase  with  the  humidity  of  the  season.  Rain  falls  copiously 
in  the  United  States,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  fruitful  coun- 
tries known  for  the  fleshy  fungi.  Hence  it  is  a  reasonable 
deduction  that  moisture  is  a  condition  favourable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  these  plants.  The  Myxogastres,  according  to  Dr.  Henry 
Carter,  are  exceedingly  abundant — in  individuals,  at  least,  if  not 
in  species — in  Bombay,  and  this  would  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  members  of  this  group  are  influenced  as  much  by  heat 
as  humidity  in  their  development,  borne  out  by  the  more  plen- 
tiful appearance  of  the  species  in  this  country  in  the  warmer 
weather  of  summer. 

In  the  essay  to  which  we  have  alluded,  Fries  only  attempts 
the  recognition  of  two  zones  in  his  estimate  of  the  distribution 
of  fungi,  and  these  are  the  temperate  and  tropical.  The  frigid 
zone  produces  no  peculiar  types,  and  is  poor  in  the  number  of 
species,  whilst  no  essential  distinction  can  be  drawn  between  the 
tropical  and  sub-tropical  with  our  present  limited  information. 
Even  these  two  zones  must  not  be  accepted  too  rigidly,  since 
tropical  forms  will  in  some  instances,  and  under  favourable  con- 
ditions, extend  far  upwards  into  the  temperate  zone. 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  271 

"In  any  region  whatever,"  writes  Fries,  "it  is  necessary, in 
the  first  instance,  to  draw  a  distinction  between  its  open  naked 
plains  and  its  wooded  tracts.  In  the  level  open  country  there  is 
a  more  rapid  evaporation  of  the  moisture  by  the  conjoined  action 
of  the  sun  and  wind  ;  whence  it  happens  that  such  a  region  is 
more  bare  of  fungi  than  one  that  is  mountainous  or  covered  by 
woods.  On  the  other  hand,  plains  possess  several  species  pecu- 
liar to  themselves ;  as,  for  example,  Agaricus  pediades,  certain 
Tricholomata,  and,  above  all,  the  family  Goprini^  of  which  they 
may  be  regarded  as  the  special  habitat.  The  species  of  this 
family  augment  in  number,  in  any  given  country,  in  proportion 
to  the  extent  and  degree  of  its  cultivation ;  for  instance,  they 
grow  more  luxuriantly  in  the  province  of  Scania,  in  Sweden — 
a  district  further  distinguished  above  all  others  by  its  cultivation 
and  fertility.  In  well-wooded  countries  moisture  is  retained  a 
much  longer  time,  and,  as  a  result,  the  production  of  fungi  is 
incomparably  greater;  and  it  is  here  desirable  to  make  a  distinc- 
tion between  the  fungi  growing  in  forests  of  resinous-wooded 
trees  (Coniferce)  and  those  which  inhabit  woods  of  other  trees, 
for  these  two  descriptions  of  forests  may  be  rightly  regarded,  as 
to  their  fungaceous  growths,  as  two  different  regions.  Beneath 
the  shade  of  Coniferce,  fungi  are  earlier  in  their  appearance ;  so 
much  so,  that  it  often  happens  they  have  attained  their  full  de- 
velopment when  their  congeners  in  forests  of  non-resinous-  trees 
have  scarcely  commenced  their  growth.  In  woods  of  the  latter 
sort,  the  fallen  leaves,  collected  in  thick  layers,  act  as  an  obstacle 
to  the  soaking  of  moisture  into  the  earth,  and  thereby  retard 
the  vegetation  of  fungi ;  on  the  other  hand,  such  woods  retain 
moisture  longer.  These  conditions  afford  to  several  large  and 
remarkable  species  the  necessary  time  for  development.  The 
beech  is  characteristic  of  our  own  region,  but  further  north  this 
tree  gives  place  to  the  birch.  Coniferous  woods  are,  moreover, 
divisible  into  two  regions — that  of  the  pines  and  that  of  the  firs. 
The  latter  is  richer  in  species  than  the  former,  because,  as  is 
well  known,  fir-trees  flourish  in  more  fertile  and  moister  soils. 
Whether,  with  respect  to  the  South  of  Europe,  other  sub- 
divisions into  regions  are  required,  we  know  not;  still  less  are 


272  FUNGI. 

we  able  to  decide  on  the  like  question  in  reference  to  the  coun- 
tries beyond  Europe."  * 

In  very  cold  countries  the  higher  fungi  are  rare,  whilst  in 
tropical  countries  they  are  most  common  at  elevations  which 
secure  a  temperate  climate.  In  Java,  Junghuhn  found  them 
most  prolific  at  an  elevation  of  3,000  to  5,000  feet;  and  in 
India,  Dr.  Hooker  remarked  that  they  were  most  abundant  at 
an  elevation  of  7,000  to  8,000  feet  above  the  sea  level. 

For  the  higher  fungi  we  must  be  indebted  to  the  summary 
made  by  Fries,  to  which  we  have  little  to  add. 

The  genus  Agaricus  occupies  the  first  place,  and  surpasses,  in 
the  number  of  species,  all  the  other  generic  groups  known.  It 
appears,  from  our  present  knowledge,  that  the  Agarici  have  their 
geographic  centre  in  the  temperate  zone,  and  especially  in  the 
colder  portion  of  that  zone.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that 
all  the  extra-European  species  of  this  genus  Ajaricus  may  be 
referred  to  various  European  subgenera. 

In  tropical  countries  it  appears  that  the  Agarici  occupy  only  a 
secondary  position  in  relation  to  other  genera  of  fungi,  such  as 
J?olt/porus,  Lenzites,  etc.  North  America,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
richer  in  species  of  Agaricus  than  Europe;  for  whilst  the  ma- 
jority of  typical  forms  are  common  to  both  continents,  America 
further  possesses  many  species  peculiar  to  itself.  In  the  tem- 
perate zone,  so  close  is  the  analogy  prevailing  between  the 
various  countries  in  respect  to  the  Agaricini,  that  from  Sweden 
to  Italy,  and  as  "well  in  England  as  North  America,  the  same 
species  are  to  be  found.  Of  500  Agaricini  met  with  in  St. 
Petersburg,  there  are  only  two  or  three  which  have  not  been 
discovered  in  Sweden;  and  again,  of  fifty  species  known  in 
Greenland,  there  is  not  one  that  is  not  common  in  Sweden.  The 
same  remarks  hold  good  in  reference  to  the  Agaricini  of  Siberia, 
Kamtschatka,  the  Ukraine,  etc.  The  countries  bordering  upon 
the  Mediterranean  possess,  however,  several  peculiar  types  ;  and 
Eastern  and  Western  Europe  present  certain  dissimilarities  in 
their  Agaric  inhabitants.  Several  species,  for  example,  of  Armilr- 

*  Fries,  "  On  the  Geographical  Distribution  of  Fungi,"  in  "  Ann.  and  Mag. 
Nat.  Hist."  ser.  in.  vol.  ix.  p.  279. 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  273 

laria  and  TricJioloma,  which  have  been  found  in  Russia,  have 
been  met  with  in  Sweden  only  in  Upland,  that  is,  in  the  most 
eastern  province ;  all  the  species  which  belong  to  the  so-called 
abiegno-rupestrcs  and  pineto-montancB  regions  of  Sweden  are 
wanting  in  England  ;  and  it  is  only  in  Scotland  that  the  species 
of  northern  mountainous  and  pine-bearing  regions  are  met  with — 
a  circumstance  explicable  from  the  similarity  in  physical  features 
between  Sweden  and  the  northern  portions  of  Great  Britain. 

The  species  of  Coprinus  appear  to  find  suitable  habitats  in 
every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

The  Cortinarice  predominate  in  the  north;  they  abound  in 
Northern  latitudes,  especially  on  wooded  hills  ;  but  the  plains  offer 
also  some  peculiar  species  whicli  flourish  during  the  rainy  days 
of  August  and  September.  In  less  cold  countries  they  are  more 
scarce  or  entirely  absent.  The  species  of  the  genus  Hygropliorus 
would  at  first  seem  to  have  a  similar  geographical  distribution 
to  those  of  the  last  group ;  but  this  is  really  not  the  case,  for 
the  same  Hygroplwri  are  to  be  found  in  nearly  every  country  of 
Europe,  and  even  the  hottest  countries  (and  those  under  the 
equator)  are  not  destitute  of  representatives  of  this  wide- spread 
genus. 

The  Lactariij  which  are  so  abundant  in  the  forests  of  Europe 
and  North  America,  appear  to  grow  more  and  more  scarce 
towards  both  the  south  and  north.  The  same  may  be  stated 
in  regard  to  Hussula. 

The  genus  Marasmius  is  dispersed  throughout  the  globe,  and 
everywhere  presents  numerous  species.  In  inter-tropical  coun- 
tries they  are  still  more  abundant,  and  exhibit  peculiarities  in 
growth  which  probably  miglfb  justify .  their  collection  into  a 
distinct  group. 

The  genera  Lentinus  and  Lenzites  are  found  in  every  region 
of  the  world;  their  principal  centre,  however,  is  in  hot  countries, 
where  they  attain  a  splendid  development.  On  the  contrary, 
towards  the  north  they  rapidly  decrease  in  number. 

The  Polypori  constitute  a  group  which,  unlike  that  of  the 
Agarics,  especially  belongs  to  hot  countries.  The  Boleti  con- 
stitute the  only  exception  to  this  rule,  since  they  select  tho 


274  FUNGI. 

temperate  and  frigid  zones  for  their  special  abode,  and  some  of 
them  at  times  find  their  way  to  the  higher  regions  of  the  Alps. 
No  one  can  describe  the  luxuriance  of  the  torrid  zone  in  Poly- 
pori  and  Trametes,  genera  of  Hymenomycetes,  which  nourish 
beneath  the  shade  of  the  virgin  forests,  where  perpetual  moisture 
and  heat  promote  their  vegetation  and  give  rise  to  an  infinite 
variety  of  forms.  But  though  the  genus  Polyporus,  which  rivals 
Agaricus  in  the  number  of  its  species,  inhabits,  in  preference, 
warm  climates  at  large,  it  nevertheless  exhibits  species  peculiar 
to  each  country.  This  arises  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
Polypori,  for  the  most  part,  live  upon  trees,  and  are  dependent 
on  this  or  that  particular  tree  for  a  suitable  habitat ;  and  the 
tropical  flora  being  prolific  in  trees  of  all  kinds,  a  multitude  of 
the  most  varied  forms  of  these  fungi  is  a  necessary  consequence. 
Hexagona,  Favolus,  and  LascMa  are  common  in  inter-tropical 
countries,  but  they  are  either  entirely  absent  or  extremely  rare 
in  temperate  climes. 

When  the  majority  of  the  species  of  a  genus  are  of  a  fleshy 
consistence,  it  may  generally  be  concluded  that  that  genus 
belongs  to  a  Northern  region,  even  if  it  should  have  some  repre- 
sentatives in  lands  which  enjoy  more  sunshine.  Thus  the  Hydna 
are  the  principal  ornaments  of  Northern  forests,  where  they  attain 
so  luxuriant  a  growth  and  beauty  that  every  other  country  must 
yield  the  palm  to  Sweden  in  respect  to  them.  In  an  allied  genus, 
that  of  Irpex,  the  texture  assumes  a  coriaceous  consistence,  and 
we  find  its  species  to  be  more  especially  inhabitants  of  warm 
climates. 

Most  of  the  genera  of  Auricularini  are  cosmopolitan,  and  the 
same  is  true  of  some  species  of  Stkreum,  of  Corticium,  etc.,  which 
are  met  with  in  countries  of  the  most  different  geographical 
position.  In  tropical  countries,  these  genera  of  fungi  assume  the 
most  curious  and  luxuriant  forms.  The  single  and  not  consider- 
able genus  Cypliella  appears  to  be  pretty  uniformly  distributed 
over  the  globe.  The  Clavari&i  are  equally  universal  in  their 
diffusion,  although  more  plentiful  in  the  north;  however,  the 
genus  Pterula  possesses  several  exotic  forms,  though  in  Europe 
it  has  but  two  representative  species.  That  beautiful  genus  of 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  275 

Hymenomycetes,  Sparassis,  occupies  a  similar  place  next-  the 
Clavaritei,  and  is  peculiarly  a  production  of  the  temperate  zone 
and  of  the  coniferous  region. 

The  fungi  which  constitute  the  family  of  Tremellini  prevail  in 
Europe,  Asia,  and  North  America,  and  exhibit  no  marked  differ- 
ences amongst  themselves,  notwithstanding  the  distances  of  the 
several  countries  apart.  It  must,  however,  be  stated  that  the 
HirneolcB  for  the  most  part  inhabit  the  tropics. 

We  come  now  to  the  Gasteromycetes — an  interesting  family, 
which  exhibits  several  ramifications  or  particular  series  of  de- 
velopments. The  most  perfect  Gasteromycetes  almost  exclusively 
belong  to  the  warmer  division  of  the  temperate,  and  to  the 
tropical  zone,  where  their  vegetation  is  the  most  luxuriant.  Of 
late  the  catalogue  of  these  fungi  has  been  greatly  enriched  by 
the  addition  of  numerous  genera  and  species,  proper  to  hot  coun- 
tries, previously  unknown.  Not  uncommonly,  the  exotic  floras 
differ  from  ours,  not  merely  in  respect  of  the  species,  but  also  of 
the  genera  of  Gasteromycetes.  It  must,  besides,  be  observed 
that  this  family  is  rich  in  well-defined  genera,  though  very  poor 
in  distinct  specific  forms.  Among  the  genera  found  in  Europe, 
many  are  cosmopolitan. 

The  Phalloidei  present  themselves  in  the  torrid  zone  under 
the  most  varied  form  and  colouring,  and  comprise  many  genera 
rich  in  species.  In  Europe  their  number  is  very  restricted.  As 
we  advance  northward  they  decrease  rapidly,  so  that  the  central 
districts  of  Sweden  possess  only  a  single  species,  the  Phallus 
impudicus,  and  even  this  solitary  representative  of  the  family  is 
very  scarce.  In  Scania,  the  most  southern  province  of  Sweden, 
there  is  likewise  but  one  genus  and  one  species  belonging  to  it, 
viz.,  the  Mutinus  caninus.  Among  other  members  of  the  Plial- 
l()ideit  may  be  further  mentioned  the  Lysurus  of  China,  the 
Aseroe  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  and  the  Clathrus,  one  species  of 
which,  C.  cancellatus,  has  a  very  wide  geographical  range ;  for 
instance,  it  is  found  in  the  south  of  Europe,  in  Germany,  and  in 
America ;  it  occurs  also  in  the  south  of  England  and  the  Isle  of 
Wight ;  whereas  the  other  species  of  this  genus  have  a  very 
limited  distribution. 


276  FUNGI. 

The  Tiiberacei*  are  remarkable  amongst  the  fungi  in  being 
all  of  them  more  or  less  hypogeous.  They  are  natives  of  warm 
countries,  and  are  distributed  into  numerous  genera  and -species. 
The  Tuberacei  constitute  in  Northern  latitudes  a  group  of  fungi 
very  poor  in  specific  forms.  The  few  species  of  the  Hymeno- 
gastres  belonging  to  Sweden,  with  the  exception  of  Hyperrhiza 
variegata  and  one  example  of  the  genus  Octaviana,  are  confined 
to  the  southern  provinces.  The  greater  part  of  this  group,  like 
the  Lycoperdaceij  are  met  with  in  the  temperate  zone.  Most 
examples  of  the  genus  Lycoperdon  are  cosmopolitan. 

The  Nidulariacei  and  the  Trichodermacei  appear  to  be  scat- 
tered over  the  globe  in  a  uniform  manner,  although  their  species 
are  not  everywhere  similar.  The  same  statement  applies  to  the 
Myxogastres,  which  are  common  in  Lapland,  and  appear  to  have 
their  central  point  of  distribution  in  the  countries  within  the 
temperate  zone.  At  the  same  time,  they  are  not  wanting  in 
tropical  regions,  notwithstanding  that  the  intensity  of  heat,  by 
drying  up  the  mucilage  which  serves  as  the  medium  for  the 
development  of  their  spores,  is  opposed  to  their  development,  t 

Of  the  Coniomycefes,  the  parasitic  species,  as  the  Cc&omacei,  the 
Puccmiei,  and  the  UstilagineSj  accompany  their  foster-plants  into 
almost  all  regions  where  they  are  found  ;  so  that  smut,  rust,  and 
mildew  are  as  common  on  wheat  and  barley  in  the  Himalayas 
and  in  New  Zealand  as  in  Europe  and  America.  Ravenelia  and 
Oronartium  only  occur  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  temperate 
zone,  whilst  Sartvellia  is  confined  to  Surinam.  Species  of 
Podisoma  and  Jtwstelia  are  as  common  in  the  United  States  as 
in  Europe,  and  the  latter  appears  also  at  the  Cape  and  Ceylon. 
Wherever  species  of  Sphceria  occur  there  the  SpTueronemei  are 
found,  but  they  do  not  appear,  according  to  our  present  know- 
ledge, to  be  so  plentiful  in  tropical  as  in  temperate  countries. 
The  Torulacei  and  its  allies  are  widely  diffused,  and  probably 
occur  to  a  considerable  extent  in  tropical  countries. 

Hyphomycetes  are  widely  diffused;  some  species  are  peculiarly 

*  The  Hypog&i  are  evidently  intended  here  by  Fries. 

•f-  Fries,  "On  the  Geographical  Distribution  of  Fungi  "  in  "Aim.  and  Mag.. 
Nat.  Hist."  ser.  3,  vol.  ix.  p.  285. 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  277 

cosmopolitan,  and  all  seem  to  be  less  influenced  by  climatic 
conditions  than  the  more  fleshy  fungi.  The  Sepedoniei  are 
represented  by  at  least  one  species  wherever  Boletus  is  found. 
The  ]\Iucedines  occur  everywhere  in  temperate  and  tropical 
regions,  Penicillium  and  Aspergillus  flourishing  as  much  in  the 
latter  as  in  the  former.  Botrytis  and  Peronospora  are  almost  as 
widely  diffused  and  as  destructive  in  warmer  as  in  temperate 
countries,  and  although  from  difficulty  in  preservation  the  moulds 
are  seldom  represented  to  any  extent  in  collections,  yet  indica- 
tions of  their  presence  constantly  occur  in  connection  with  other 
forms,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  they 
are  far  from  uncommon.  The  Dematiei  are  probably  equally  as 
widely  diffused.  Species  of  Helminthosporium,  Cladosporium, 
and  Macrosporium  seem  to  be  as  common  in  tropical  as  temper- 
ate climes.  The  distribution  of  these  fungi  is  imperfectly  known, 
except  in  Europe  and  North  America,  but  their  occurrence  in 
Ceylon,  Cuba,  India,  and  Australasia  indicated  a  cosmopolitan 
range.  Gladosporiutn  Jicrlarum  would  seem  to  occur  everywhere. 
The  Stilbacei  arid  Isariacei  are  not  less  widely  diffused,  although 
as  yet  apparently  limited  in  species.  Isaria  occurs  on  insects 
in  Brazil  as  in  North  America,  and  species  of  Stilbum  and  Isaria 
are  by  no  means  rare  in  Ceylon. 

The  Pliysomycetes  have  representatives  in  the  tropics,  species 
of  Mucor  occurring  in  Cuba,  Brazil,  and  the  southern  states  of 
North  America,  with  the  same  and  allied  genera  in  Ceylon. 
Antennaria  and  Pisomyxa  seem  to  reach  their  highest  develop- 
ment in  hot  countries. 

The  Ascomycetes  are  represented  everywhere,  and  although 
certain  groups  are  more  tropical  than  others,  they  are  represented 
in  all  collections.  The  fleshy  forms  are  most  prolific  in  temper- 
ate countries,  and  only  a  few  species  of  Peziza  affect  the  tropics, 
yet  in  elevated  districts  of  hot  countries,  such  as  the  Himalayas 
of  India,  Peziza,  Morchella,  and  Geoglossum  are  found.  Two  or 
three  species  of  MorcJiclla  are  found  in  Kashmir,  and  at  least, 
one  or  two  in  Java,  where  they  are  used  as  food.  The  genus 
Cyitaria  is  confined  to  the  southern  parts  of  South  America 
and  Tasmania.  The  United  States  equal  if  they  do  not  exccod 
13 


278  FUNGI. 

European  states  in  the  number  of  species  of  the  Discomycctes. 
The  Phacidiacei  are  not  confined  to  temperate  regions,  but  are 
more  rare  elsewhere.  Cordierites  and  Acroscyphus  (?)  are  tro- 
pical genera,  the  former  extending  upwards  far  into  the  tem- 
perate zone,  as  Hysterium  and  Rhytisma  descend  into  the  tropics. 
Amongst  the  Sphceriacei,  Xylaria  and  Hypoxylon  are  well  repre- 
sented in  the  tropics,  such  species  as  Xylaria  Tiypoxylon  and 
Xylaria  corniformis  being  widely  diffused.  In  West  Africa  an 
American  species  of  Hypoxylon  is  amongst  the  very  few  speci- 
mens that  have  ever  reached  us  from  the  Congo,  whilst 
jBT.  concentricum  and  Ustulina  vulgaris  seem  to  be  almost  cosmo- 
politan. Torrubia  and  Nectria  extend  into  the  tropics,  but  are 
more  plentiful  in  temperate  and  sub- tropical  countries.  Dothidea 
is  well  represented  in  the  tropics,  whilst  of  the  species  of 
Sph&ria  proper,  only  the  more  prominent  have  probably  been 
secured  by  collectors ;  hence  the  Superficiales  section  is  better 
represented  than  the  Obtectcz,  and  the  tropical  representatives 
of  foliicolous  species  are  but  few.  Asterina,  Hicropeltis,  and 
Pempliidium  are  more  sub-tropical  than  temperate  forms.  The 
Perisporiacei  are  represented  almost  everywhere;  although 
species  of  Erysiphe  are  confined  to  temperate  regions,  the  genus 
Meliola  occupies  its  place  in  warmer  climes.  Finally,  the 
Tuleraceij  which  are  subterranean  in  their  habits,  are  limited 
in  distribution,  being  confined  to  the  temperate  zone,  never 
extending  far  into  the  cold,  and  but  poorly  represented  out  of 
Europe.  One  species  of  Mylitta  occurs  in  Australia,  another 
in  China,  and  another  in  the  Neilgherries  of  India ;  the  genus 
Paurocotylis  is  found  in  New  Zealand  and  Ceylon.  It  is  said 
that  a  species  of  Tuber  is  found  in  Himalayan  regions,  but  in 
the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  Northern  Europe,  the  Tuber acel 
are  rare. 

The  imperfect  condition  of  our  information  concerning  very 
many  countries,  even  of  those  partially  explored,  must  render 
any  estimate  or  comparison  of  the  floras  of  those  countries  most 
fragmentary  and  imperfect.  Recently,  the  mycology  of  our  own 
islands  has  been  more  closely  investigated,  and  the  result  of 
many  years'  application  on  the  part  of  a  few  individuals  has 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  279 

appeared  in  a  record  of  some  2,809  species,*  to  which  subsequent 
additions  have  been  made,  to  an  extent  of  probably  not  much 
less  than  200  species,t  which  would  bring  the  total  to  about 
3,000  species.  The  result  is  that  no  material  difference  exists 
between  our  flora  and  that  of  Northern  France,  Belgium,  and 
Scandinavia,  except  that  in  the  latter  there  are  a  larger  number 
of  Hymenomycetal  forms.  The  latest  estimates  of  the  flora  of 
Scandinavia  are  contained  in  the  works  of  the  illustrious  Fries,  J 
but  these  are  not  sufficiently 'recent,  except  so  far  as  regards 
the  Hymenomycetes,  for  comparison  of  numbers  with  British 
species. 

The  flora  of  Belgium  has  its  most  recent  exponent  in  the  post- 
humous work  of  Jean  Kickx ;  but  the  1,370  species  enumerated 
by  him  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  represent  the  whole  of  the 
fungi  of  Belgium,  for  in  such  case  it  would  be  less  than  half  the 
number  found  in  the  British  Islands,  although  the  majority  of 
genera  and  species  are  the  same.  § 

For  the  North  of  France  no  one  could  have  furnished  a 
more  complete  list,  especially  of  the  microscopic  forms,  than 
M.  Desmazieres,  but  we  are  left  to  rely  solely  upon  his  papers  ill 
"  Annales  des  Sc.  Nat."  and  his  published  specimens,  which, 
though  by  no  means  representative  of  the  fleshy  fungi,  are  doubt- 
less tolerably  exhaustive  of  the  minute  species.  From  what  we 
know  of  French  Hymenomycetes,  their  number  and  variety 
appear  to  be  much  below  those  of  Great  Britain.  || 

The  mycologic  flora  of  Switzerland  has  been  very  well  investi- 

*  Cooke's  "Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  2  vols.    1871. 

f  "  Grevillea,"  vols.  i.  and  ii.     London,  1872-1874. 

J  Fries,  "Summa  Vegetabilium  Scandinaviae''  (1846),  and  "  Monograpliia 
Hymenomycetum  Suecise"  (1863);  "Epicrisis  Hymenomycetom  Europ."  (1874). 

§  "  Flore  cryptogamique  des  Flanders"  (1867). 

i|  "Aine  Plantes  Cryptogames-cellulaires  du  Department  de  Saone  et  Loire  " 
(1863) ;  Bulliard,  "Hist,  des  Champignons  de  la  France  "  (1791) ;  De  Candolle, 
"Flore  Fran^aise"  (1815);  Duby,  "Botanicon  Gallicum"  (1828-1830);  Paulet, 
"  Iconograpbie  des  Champignons"  (1855);  Godron,  "Catalogue  des  Plantea 
Cellulaires  du  Department  de  la  Meurthe"  (1845);  Crouan,  "  Florule  dn 
Finistere"  (1867)  ;  De  Seynes,  "  Essai  d'une  Flore  Mycologique  de  la  R6gion  de 
Montpellier  et  du  Gard  "  (1863). 


230  FUNGI. 

gated,  although  requiring  revision.  Less  attention  having  been 
given  to  the  minute  forms,  and  more  to  the  Hymenomycetes  than 
in  France  rend  Belgium,  may  in  part  account  for  the  larger  pro- 
portion of  the  latter  in  the  Swiss  flora.* 

In  Spain  and  Portugal  scarce  anything  has  been  done;  the 
small  collection  made  by  Welwitsch  can  in  no  way  be  supposed 
to  represent  the  Peninsula. 

The  fungi  of  Italy  t  include  some  species  peculiar  to  the 
Peninsula.  The  Tuberacei  are  Well  represented,  and  although 
the  Hymenomycetes  do  not  equal  in  number  those  of  Britain  or 
Scandinavia,  a  good  proportion  is  maintained. 

Bavaria  and  Austria  (including  Hungary  and  the  Tyrol)  are 
being  more  thoroughly  investigated  than  hitherto,  but  the  works 
of  SchsefFer,  Tratinnick,  Corda,  and  Krombholz  have  made  us 
acquainted  with  the  general  features  of  their  mycology,  J  to 
which  more  recent  lists  and  catalogues  have  contributed.  §  The 
publication  of  dried  specimens  has  of  late  years  greatly  facili- 
tated acquaintance  with  the  fungi  of  different  countries  in 
Europe,  and  those  issued  by  Baron  Thiimen  from  Austria  do  not 
differ  materially  from  those  of  Northern  Germany,  although 
Dr.  Rehm  has  made  us  acquainted  with  some  new  and  inter- 
esting forms  from  Bavaria.  || 

Russia  is  to  a  large  extent  unknown,  except  in  its  northern 
borders.^]"  Karsten  has  investigated  the  fungi  of  Finland,**  and 

*  Secretan,  "  Mycographie  Suisse"  (1833);  Trog,  "  Yerzeiclmiss  Schweize- 
rischer  Schwamme  "  (1844). 

t  Passerini,  "Funghi  Parmensi,"  in  "Giorn.  Bot.  Italiano"  (1872-73); 
Venturi,  "Miceti  dell'  Agro  Bresciano"  (1845);  Viviani,  «'  Funghi  d'ltalia" 
(1834) ;  Vittadiui,  "Funghi  Mangerecci  d'ltalia"  (1835). 

t  Schreffer,  "Fungorum  qui  in  Bavaria,"  &c.  (1762-1774);  Tratinnick, 
"  Fungi  Austriaci"  (1804-1806  and  1809-30);  Corda,  "  Icones  Fungorum" 
(Prague,  1837-1842);  Kroinbholz,  "  Abbildungen  der  Schwamme"  1831-1849). 

§  Reichardt,  "Flora  von  Iglau;"  NiessI,  "  Cryptogamenflora  Nieder-CEster- 
reichs"  (1857,  1859) ;  Schulzer,  "Schwamme  Ungarns,  Slavonians,"  &c. 

||  Rehm,  "  Ascomyceten,"  fasc.  i.-iv. 

U  Weinmann,  "  Hymeno-et  Gasteromycetes,'  in  "Imp.  Ross"  (1836);  Wein- 
mann,  "  Enumeratio  Stirpiura,  in  Agro  Petropolilano  "  (1837). 

'*  Karsten,  "  Fungi  in  insulis  Spetsbergen  collectio"  (1872);  Karsten,  "Mono- 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  281 

added  considerably  to  the  number  of  Dlscomycetes^  for  which 
the  climate  seems  to  be  favourable ;  but,  as  a  whole,  it  may  be 
concluded  that  Western  and  Northern  Europe  are  much  better 
explored  than  the  Eastern  and  South-Eastern,  to  which  we  might 
add  the  South,  if  Italy  be  excepted. 

We  have  only  to  add,  for  Europe^  that  different  portions  of 
the  German  empire  have  been  well  worked,  from  the  period  of 
Wallroth  to  the  present.*  Recently,  the  valley  of  the  Rhine  has 
been  exhaustively  examined  by  Fuckel  ;t  but  both  Germany  and 
France  suffered  checks  during  the  late  war  which  made  their 
mark  on  the  records  of  science  not  so  speedily  to  be  effaced. 
Denmark,  with  its  splendid  Flora  Danica  still  in  progress,  more 
than  a  century  after  its  commencement,  £  has  a  mycologic  flora 
very  like  to  that  of  Scandinavia,  which  is  as  well  known. 

If  we  pass  from  Europe  to  North  America,  we  find  there  a 
mycologic  flora  greatly  resembling  that  of  Europe,  and  although 
Canada  and  the  extreme  North  is  little  known,  some  parts  of 
the  United  States  have  been  investigated.  Schweinitz  §  first 
made  known  to  any  extent  the  riches  of  this  country,  especially 
Carolina,  and  in  this  state  the  late  Dr.  Curtis  and  H.  W.  Ravenel 
continued  their  labours.  With  the  exception  of  Lea's  collections 
in  Cincinnati,  Wright's  in  Texas,  and  some  contributions  from 
Ohio,  Alabama,  Massachusetts,  and  New  York,  a  great  portion 
of  this  vast  country  is  mycologically  unknown.  It  is  remarkably 
rich  in  fleshy  fungi,  not  only  in  Ayaricmi,  but  also  in  Discomy- 
cctes,  containing  a  large  number  of  European  forms,  mostly 

graphia  Pezizarum  fennicarum "  (1869);  Karsten,  "  Symbolse  ad  Mycologiam 
fennicam  "  (1870). 

*  Rabenhorst,  "  Deutschlands  Kryptogamen  Flora"  (1844);  Wallroth,  "Flora 
Germanica"  (1833)  ;  Sturm,  "Deutschlands  Flora,  iii.  diePilze"  (1837,  &c.). 

t  Fuckel,  "  Symbolse  mycologicse  "  (1869). 

i  "Flora  Danica"  (1766-1873);  Holmskjold,  "  Beata  runs  otia  Fungis 
Daniels  impensa"  (1799);  Schumacher,  "  Enumeratio  plantarum  Sellandiae" 
(1801). 

§  Schweinitz,  "  Synopsis  Fungorum,"  in  "America  Boreali,"  &c.  (1834). 
Lea,  "Catalogue  of  Plants  of  Cincinnati"  (1849);  Curtis,  "Catalogue  of  the 
Plants  of  North  Carolina"  (1867);  Berkeley,  "North  American  Fungi,"  in 
"Grevillea,"  vols.  i.-iii.;'  Peck,  in  "Reports  of  New  York  Museum  Nat.  Hist." 


282  FUNGI. 

European  genera,  •with  many  species  at  present  peculiar  to  itself. 
Tropical  forms  extend  upwards  into  the  Southern  States. 

The  islands  of  the  West  Indies  have  been  more  or  less  ex- 
amined, but  none  so  thoroughly  as  Cuba,  at  first  by  Ramon  de  la 
Sagra,  and  afterwards  by  Wright.*  The  three  principal  genera 
of  Hymenomycetes  represented  are  Agaricus,  Marasmius,  and 
Polyporus,  represented  severally  by  82,  51,  and  120  species, 
amounting  to  more  than  half  the  entire  number.  Of  the  490 
species,  about  57  per  cent,  are  peculiar  to  the  island;  13  per 
cent,  are  widely  dispersed  species ;  12  per  cent,  are  common  to 
the  island  and  Central  America,  together  with  the  warmer  parts 
of  South  America  and  Mexico ;  3  per  cent,  are  common  to  it 
with  the  United  States,  especially  the  Southern ;  while  13  per 
cent,  are  European  species,  including,  however,  13  which  may 
be  considered  as  cosmopolitan.  Some  common  tropical  species 
do  not  occur,  and,  on  the  whole,  the  general  character  seems 
sub-tropical  rather  than  tropical.  f  Many  of  the  species  are 
decidedly  those  of  temperate  regions,  or  at  least  nearly  allied. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  species  are  those  which  occur  in 
the  genera  Craterellus  and  Laschia,  the  latter  genus,  especially, 
yielding  several  new  forms.  The  fact  that  the  climate  is,  on  the 
whole,  more  temperate  than  that  of  some  other  islands  in  the 
same  latitudes,  would  lead  us  to  expect  the  presence  of  a  com- 
paratively large  number  of  European  species,  or  those  which 
are  found  in  the  more  northern  United  States,  or  British  North 
America,  and  may  account  for  the  fact  that  so  small  a  propor- 
tion of  species  should  be  identical  with  those  from  neighbouring 
islands. 

In  Central  America  only  a  few  small  collections  have  been 
made,  which  indicate  a  sub-tropical  region. 

From  the  northern  parts  of  South  America,  M.  Leprieur 
collected  in  French  Guiana.t  Southwards  of  this,  Spruce  col- 
lected in  the  countries  bordering  on  the  River  Amazon,  and 

*  Berkeley  and  Curtis,  "Fungi  Cubensis,"  in  "Journ.  Linn.  Soc."  (1868); 
Ramon  de  la  Sagra,  "  Hist.  Phys.  de  1'Isle  de  Cuba,  Cryptogames,  par  Montagne" 
(1841);  Montagne,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  February,  1842. 

t  Montagne,  "  Cryptogamia  Guyanensis,"  "Ann.  Sci.  Nat."  4me  se>.  iii. 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION.  283 

Gardner  in  Brazil,*  Gaudichaud  in  Chili  and  Peru,f  Gay  in 
Chili,  J  Blanchet  in  Bahia,§  Weddell  in  Brazil,  ||  and  Auguste 
de  Saint  Hiliare  IT  in  the  same  country.  Small  collections  have 
also  been  made  in  the  extreme  south.  All  these  collections 
contain  coriaceous  species  of  Polyporus,  Favolus,  and  allied 
genera,  with  Auricularini^  together  with  such  Ascomycetes  as 
Xylaria,  and  such  forms  of  Peziza  as  P.  tricholoma,  P.  Hindsii, 
and  P.  macrotis.  As  yet  we  cannot  form  an  estimate  of  the 
extent  or  variety  of  the  South  American  flora,  which  has  fur- 
nished the  interesting  genus  Cyttaria,  and  may  yet  supply  forms 
unrecognized  elsewhere. 

The  island  of  Juan  Fernandez  furnished  to  M.  Bertero  a  good 
representative  collection,**  which  is  remarkable  as  containing 
more  than  one-half  its  number  of  European  species,  and  the  rest 
possessing  rather  the  character  of  those  of  a  temperate  than  a 
sub- tropical  region. 

Australasia  has  been  partly  explored,  and  the  results  embodied 
in  the  Floras  of  Dr.  Hooker  and  subsequent  communications. 
In  a  note  to  an  enumeration  of  235  species  in  1872,  the  writer 
observes  that  "  many  of  them  are  either  identical  with  European 
species,  or  so  nearly  allied  that  with  dried  specimens  only, 
unaccompanied  by  notes  or  drawings,  it  is  impossible  to  separate 
them  ;  others  are  species  which  are  almost  universally  found  in 
tropical  or  sub-tropical  countries,  while  a  few  only  are  peculiar 
to  Australia,  or  are  undescribed  species,  mostly  of  a  tropical  type. 
The  collections  on  the  whole  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  of  any 
great  interest,  except  so  far  as  geographical  distribution  is  con- 
cerned, as  the  aberrant  forms  are  few."  ft 

*  Berkeley,  in  "  Hooker's  Journal  of  Botany"  for  1843,  &c. 

t  Montague,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  2me  ser.  vol.  ii.  p.  73  (1834). 

J  Gay,  "  Hist,  fisica  y  politica  de  Chile"  (1845). 

§  Berkeley  and  Montagne,  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  xi.  (April,  1849). 

||  Montagne,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  4me  ser.  v.  No.  6. 

1  Montagne,  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat."  (July,  1839). 

**  Montagne,  "  Prodromus  Flone  Fernandesianse,"  in  "Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat." 
(June,  1835). 

ft1  Berkeley,  "On  Australian  Fungi,"  in  "Jourii.  Linn.  Society,"  vol.  xiii. 
(May,  1872). 


284  FUNGI. 

The  fungi  collected  by  the  Antarctic  Expedition  in  Auckland 
and  Campbell's  Islands,  and  in  Fuegia  and  the  Falklands,*  were 
few  and  of  bnt  little  interest,  including  such  cosmopolitan 
forms  as  Sphceria  Tiebarum  and  Cladosporium  herbarum,  Hirneola 
auricula -judcuB,  Polyporus  versicolor,  Eurotium  herbariorum,  etc. 

In  New  Zealand  a  large  proportion  have  been  found,  and  these 
may  be  taken  to  represent  the  general  character  of  the  fungi 
of  the  islands,  which  is  of  the  type  usually  found  in  temperate 
regions,  f 

The  fnngi  of  Asia  are  so  little  known  that  no  satisfactory 
conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  our  present  incomplete  know- 
ledge. In  India,  the  collections  made  by  Dr.  Hooker  in  his 
progress  to  the  Sikkim  Himalayas,^  a  few  species  obtained  by 
M.  Perottet  in  Pondicherry,  and  small  collections  from  the 
Neilgherries,§  are  almost  all  that  have  been  recorded.  From 
these  it  may  be  concluded  that  elevations  such  as  approximate 
a  temperate  climate  are  the  most  productive,  and  here  European 
and  North  American  genera,  with  closely  allied  species,  have 
the  preponderance.  The  number  of  Agaricini,  for  instance,  is 
large,  and  amongst  the  twenty-eight  subgenera  into  which  the 
genus  Agaricus  is  divided,  eight  only  are  unrepresented.  Casual 
specimens  received  from  other  parts  of  India  afford  evidence 
that  here  is  a  vast  field  unexplored,  the  forests  and  mountain 
slopes  of  which  would  doubtless  afford  an  immense  number  of 
new  and  interesting  forms. 

Of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  Java  ha,s  been  most  explored,  both 
by  Junghuhn||  and  Zollinger.^f  The  former  records  117  species 
in  40  genera,  Nees  von  Esenbeck  and  Blume  11  species  in 
3  genera,  and  Zollinger  and  Moritzi  31  species  in  20  genera, 
making  a  total  of  159  species,  of  which  47  belong  to  Polyporus. 

*  Hooker's  "  Cryptogamia  Antarctica,"  pp.  57  and  141. 

f  Hookers  "New  Zealand  Flora." 

£  Berkeley,  "Sikkim  Himalayan  Fungi,"  in  Hooker's  "Journal  of  Botany" 
(1850),  p.  42,  &c. 

§  Montagne,  "Cryptogamae  Neilgherrensis,"  in  "Ann.  des  Soi.  Nat."  2mc  ser. 
xviii.  p.  21  (1842). 

||  Junghuhn,  "  Premissa  in  Floram  Crypt.  Javee." 

II  Zollinger,  "Fungi  Archipalegi  Malaijo  Neerlandici  novi." 


GEOGRAPHIGAL    DISTRIBUTION.  285 

Leveille  added  87  species,  making  a  total  of  246  species. .  The 
fungi  of  Sumatra,  Borneo,  and  other  islands  are  partly  the  same 
and  partly  allied,  but  of  a  similar  tropical  character. 

The  fungi  of  the  island  of  Ceylon,  collected  by  Gardner, 
Thwaites,  and  Konig,  were  numerous.  The  Agarics  comprise 
302  species,  closely  resembling  those  of  our  own  country.*  It 
is  singular  that  every  one  of  the  subgenera  of  Fries  is  repre- 
sented, though  the  number  of  species  in  one  or  two  is  greatly 
predominant.  Lepiota  and  Psalliota  alone  comprise  one-third 
of  the  species,  while  Pholiota  offers  only  a  single  obscure  species. 
The  enumeration  recently  published  of  the  succeeding  families 
contains  many  species  of  interest. 

In  Africa,  the  best  explored  country  is  Algeria,  although 
unfortunately  the  flora  was  never  completed, f  The  correspon- 
dence between  the  fungi  of  Algeria  and  European  countries  is 
very  striking,  and  the  impression  is  not  removed  by  the  presence 
of  a  few  sub-tropical  forms.  It  is  probable  that  were  the  fungi 
of  Spain  known  the  resemblance  would  be  more  complete. 

From  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Natal  collections  have  been 
made  by  Zeyher,J  Drege,  and  others,  and  from  these  we  are 
enabled  to  form  a  tolerable  estimate  of  the  mycologic  flora.  Of 
the  Hymenomycetes,  the  greater  part  belong  to  Agaricus ;  there 
are  but  four  or  five  Polypori  in  Zeyher's  collection,  one  of  which 
is  protean.  The  Gasteromycetes  are  interesting,  belonging  to 
many  genera,  and  presenting  two,  Scoleciocarpus  and  Phellorinia, 
which  were  founded  upon  specimens  in  this  collection.  Batarrea, 
Tulostoma,  and  Mycenastrum  are  represented  by  European  species. 
There  are  also  two  species  of  Lycoperdon,  and  one  of  Podaxon. 
Besides  these,  there  is  the  curious  Secotium  Gueinzii.  The  genus 
Geaster  does  not  appear  in  the  collection,  nor  Scleroderma. 
Altogether  the  Cape  flora  is  a  peculiar  one,  and  can  scarcely  be 
compared  with  any  other. 

At  the  most,  only  scattered  and  isolated  specimens  have  been 

*  Berkeley  and  Broorae,  "Fungi  of  Ceylon,"  in  "  Journ.  Linn.  Soc."  for 
May,  1871. 

f  "  Flore  d'Algerie,  Cryptogames"  (1846,  &c.). 

J  Berkeley,  in  Hooker's  "Journal  of  Botany,"  vol.  ii.  (1843),  p.  408. 


286  FUNGI. 

recorded  from  Senegal,  from  Egypt,  or  from  other  parts  of 
Africa,  so  that,  with  the  above  exceptions,  the  continent  may 
be  regarded  as  unknown. 

From  this  imperfect  summary  it  will  be  seen  that  no  general 
scheme  of  geographical  distribution  of  fungi  can  as  yet  be 
attempted,  and  the  most  we  can  hope  to  do  is  to  compare 
collection  with  collection,  and  what  we  know  of  one  country 
with  what  we  know  of  another,  and  note  differences  and  agree- 
ments, so  as  to  estimate  the  probable  character  of  the  fungi  of 
other  countries  of  which  we  are  still  in  ignorance.  It  is  well 
sometimes  that  we  should  attempt  a  task  like  the  present,  since 
we  then  learn  how  much  there  is  to  be  known,  and  how  much 
good  work  lies  waiting  to  be  done  by  the  capable  and  willing 
hands  that  may  hereafter  undertake  it. 


XIV. 

COLLECTION  AND  PRESERVATION. 

THE  multitudinous  forms  which  fungi  assume,  the  differences 
of  substance,  and  variability  in  size,  render  a  somewhat  detailed 
account  of  the  modes  adopted  for  their  collection  and  preserva- 
tion necessary.  The  habitats  of  the  various  groups  have  already 
been  indicated,  so  that  there  need  be  no  difficulty  in  selecting 
the  most  suitable  spots,  and  as  to  the  period  of  the  year,  this  will 
be  determined  by  the  class  of  objects  sought.  Although  it  may 
be  said  that  no  time,  except  when  the  ground  is  covered  with 
snow,  is  entirely  barren  of  fungi,  yet  there  are  periods  more 
prolific  than  others.*  Fleshy  fungi,  such  as  the  Hymenomycetes, 
are  most  common  from  September  until  the  frosts  set  in,  whereas 
many  microscopic  species  may  be  found  in  early  spring,  and 
increase  in  number  until  the  autumn. 

The  collector  may  be  provided  with  an  ordinary  collecting 
box,  but  for  the  Agarics  an  open  shallow  basket  is  preferable.  A 
great  number  of  the  woody  kinds  may  be  carried  in  the  coat- 
pocket,  and  foliicolous  species  placed  between  the  leaves  of  a 
pocket-book.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  be  provided  with  a  quantity 
of  soft  bibulous  paper,  in  which  specimens  can  be  wrapped  when 
collected,  and  this  will  materially  assist  in  their  preservation 
when  transferred  to  box  or  basket.  A  large  clasp-knife,  a  small 
pocket-saw,  and  a  pocket-lens  will  complete  the  outfit  for  ordinary 
occasions.  In  order  to  preserve  the  fleshy  fungi  for  the  her- 
barium, there  is  but  one  method,  which  has  often  been  described. 

*  The  genus  Chionyphe  occurs  on  granaries  under  snow,  as  well  as  in  that 
formidable  disease,  the  Madura  fungus-foot.  (See  Carter's  "  Mycetoma.") 


288  FUNGI. 

The  Agaric,  or  other  similar  fungus,  is  cut  perpendicularly  from 
the  pileus  downwards  through  the  stem.  A  second  cut  in  the 
same  direction  removes  a  thin  slice,  which  represents  a  section  of 
the  fungus  ;  this  may  be  laid  on  blotting  paper,  or  plant-drying 
paper,  and  put  under  slight  pressure  to  dry.  From  one-half  of 
the  fungus  the  pileus  is  removed,  and  with  a  sharp  knife  the 
gills  and  fleshy  portion  of  the  pileus  are  cut  away.  In  the  same 
manner  the  inner  flesh  of  the  half  stem  is  also  cleared.  When 
dried,  the  half  of  the  pileus  is  placed  in  its  natural  position  on 
the  top  of  the  half  stem,  and  thus  a  portrait  of  the  growing 
fungus  is  secured,  whilst  the  section  shows  the  arrangement  of 
the  hymenium  and  the  character  of  the  stem.  The  other  half 
of  the  pileus  may  be  placed,  gills  downward,  on  a  piece  of  black 
paper,  and  allowed  to  rest  there  during  the  night.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  spores  will  have  been  thrown  down  upon  the  paper, 
which  may  be  placed  with  the  other  portions.  When  dry,  the 
section,  profile,  and  spore  paper  may  be  mounted  together  on  a 
piece  of  stiff  paper,  and  the  name,  locality,  and  date  inscribed 
below,  with  any  additional  particulars.  It  is  advisable  here  to 
caution  the  collector  never  to  omit  writing  down  these  particulars 
at  once  when  the  preparations  are  made,  and  to  place  them 
together,  between  the  folds  of  the  drying  paper,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  possibility  of  a  mistake.  Some  small  species  may 
be  dried  whole  or  only  cut  down  the  centre,  but  the  spores  should 
never  be  forgotten.  When  dried,  either  before  or  after  mounting, 
the  specimens  should  be  poisoned,  in  order  to  preserve  them 
from  the  attacks  of  insects.  The  best  medium  for  this  purpose 
is  carbolic  acid,  laid  on  with  a  small  hog-hair  brush.  Whatever 
substance  is  used,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  by  the  manipulator 
that  he  is  dealing  with  poison,  and  must  exercise  caution.  If 
the  specimens  are  afterwards  found  to  be  insufficiently  poisoned, 
or  that  minute  insects  are  present  in  the  herbarium,  fresh 
poisoning  will  be  necessary.  Some  think  that  benzine  or  spirits 
of  camphor  is  sufficient,  but  as  either  is  volatile,  it  is  not  to  be 
trusted  as  a  permanent  preservative.  Mr.  English,  of  Epping, 
by  an  ingenious  method  of  his  own,  preserves  a  great  number 
of  the  fleshy  species  in  their  natural  position,  and  although 


COLLECTION  AND  PRESERVATION.  289 

valueless  for  an  herbarium,  they  are  not  only  very  ornamental, 
but  useful,  if  space  can  be  devoted  to  them. 

Leaf  parasites,  whether  on  living  or  dead  leaves,  may  be  dried 
in  the  usual  way  for  drying  plants,  between  folds  of  bibulous  paper 
under  pressure.  It  may  be  sometimes  necessary  with  dead  leaves 
to  throw  them  in  water,  in  order  that  they  may  be  flattened  with- 
out breaking,  and  then  dry  them  in  the  same  manner  as  green 
leaves.  All  species  produced  on  a  hard  matrix,  as  wood,  bark, 
etc.,  should  have  as  much  as  possible  of  the  matrix  pared  away, 
so  that  the  specimens  may  lie  flat  in  the  herbarium.  This  is 
often  facilitated  in  corticolous  species  by  removing  the  bark  and 
drying  it  under  pressure. 

The  dusty  Gasteromycetes  are  troublesome,  especially  the 
minute  species,  and  if  mounted  openly  on  paper  are  soon  spoiled. 
A  good  plan  is  to  provide  small  square  or  round  cardboard 
boxes,  of  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  depth,  and 
to  glue  the  specimen  to  the  bottom  at  once,  allowing  it  to 
dry  in  that  position  before  replacing  the  cover.  The  same 
method  should  be  adopted  for  many  of  the  moulds,  such  as 
Polyactis,  etc.,  which,  under  any  circumstances,  are  difficult  to 
preserve. 

In  collecting  moulds,  we  have  found  it  an  excellent  plan  to 
go  out  provided  with  small  wooden  boxes,  corked  at  top  and 
bottom,  such  as  entomologists  use,  and  some  common  pins. 
When  a  delicate  mould  is  collected  on  a  decayed  Agaric,  or  any 
other  matrix,  after  clearing  away  with  a  penknife  all  unnecessary 
portions  of  the  matrix,  the  specimen  may  be  pinned  down  to  the 
cork  in  one  of  these  boxes.  Another  method,  and  one  advisable 
also  for  the  Myxogastres,  is  to  carry  two  or  three  pill-boxes,  in 
which,  after  being  wrapped  in  tissue  paper,  the  specimen  may 
be  placed. 

A  great  difficulty  is  often  experienced  with  microscopic  fungi, 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  Spliceriacei,  in  the  necessity,  whenever 
a  new  examination  is  required,  to  soak  the  specimen  for  some 
hours,  and  then  transfer  the  fruit  to  a  slide,  before  it  can  be 
compared  with  any  newly-found  specimen  that  has  to  be  identi- 
fied. To  avoid  this,  mounted  specimens  ready  for  the  microscope 


290  FUNGI. 

are  an  acquisition,  and  may  be  secured  in  the  following  manner. 
After  the  fungus  has  been  soaked  in  water,  where  that  is  neces- 
sary, and  the  hymenium  extracted  on  the  point  of  a  penknife,  let 
it  be  transferred  to  the  centre  of  a  clean  glass  slide.  A  drop  of 
glycerine  is  let  fall  upon  this  nucleus,  then  the  covering  glass 
placed  over  it.  A  slight  pressure  will  flatten  the  object  and  expel 
all  the  superfluous  glycerine  around  the  edges  of  the  covering 
glass.  A  spring  clip  holds  the  cover  in  position,  whilst  a  camel- 
hair  pencil  is  used  to  remove  the  glycerine  which  may  have  been 
expelled.  This  done,  the  edges  of  the  cover  may  be  fixed  to  the 
slide  by  painting  round  with  gum-dammar  dissolved  in  benzole. 
In  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours  the  spring  clip  may  be 
removed,  and  the  mount  placed  in  the  cabinet.  Glycerine  is, 
perhaps,  the  best  medium  for  mounting  the  majority  of  these 
objects,  and  when  dammar  and  benzole  are  used  for  fixing,  there 
is  no  difficulty  experienced,  as  is  the  case  with  Canada  balsam, 
if  the  superfluous  glycerine  is  not  wholly  washed  away.  Speci- 
mens of  Puccinia  mounted  in  this  way  when  fresh  gathered, 
and  before  any  shrivelling  had  taken  place,  are  as  plump  and 
natural  in  our  cabinet  as  they  were  when  collected  six  or  seven 
years  ago. 

Moulds  are  always  troublesome  to  preserve  in  a  herbarium  in 
a  state  sufficiently  perfect  for  reference  after  a  few  years.  We 
have  found  it  an  excellent  method  to  provide  some  thin  plates  of 
mica,  the  thinner  the  better,  of  a  uniform  size,  say  two  inches 
square,  or  even  less.  Between  two  of  these  plates  of  mica 
enclose  a  fragment  of  the  mould,  taking  care  not  to  move  one 
plate  over  the  other  after  the  mould  is  placed.  Fix  the  plates 
by  a  clip,  whilst  strips  of-  paper  are  gummed  or  pasted  over  the 
edges  of  the  mica  plates  so  as  to  hold  them  together.  When 
dry,  the  clip  may  be  removed,  and  'the  name  written  on  the 
paper.  These  mounts  may  be  put  each  in  a  small  envelope,  and 
fastened  down  in  the  herbarium.  Whenever  an  examination  is 
required,  the  object,  being  already  dry-mounted,  may  at  once  be 
placed  under  the  microscope.  In  this  manner  the  mode  of 
attachment  of  the  spores  can  be  seen,  but  if  mounted  in  fluid 
they  are  at  once  detached;  and  if  the  moulds  are  only  preserved 


COLLECTION   AND   PRESERVATION.  291 

in  boxes,  in  the  course  of  a  short  time  nearly  every  spore,  will 
have  fallen  from  its  support. 

Two  or  three  accessories  to  a  good  herbarium  may  be  named. 
For  fleshy  fungi,  especially  Agarics,  faithfully  coloured  drawings, 
side  by  side  with  the  dried  specimens,  will  compensate  for  loss 
or  change  of  colour  which  most  species  undergo  in  the  process 
of  drying.  For  minute  species,  camera  lucida  drawings  of  the 
spores,  together  with  their  measurements,  will  add  greatly  to 
the  practical  value  of  a  collection.  In  mounting  specimens, 
whether  on  leaves,  bark,  or  wood,  it  will  be  of  advantage  to  have 
one  specimen  glued  down  to  the  paper  so  as  to  be  seen  at  once, 
and  a  duplicate  loose  in  a  small  envelope  beside  it,  so  that  the 
latter  may  at  any  time  be  removed  and  examined  under  the 
microscope. 

In  arranging  specimens  for  the  herbarium,  a  diversity  of  taste 
and  opinion  exists  as  to  the  best  size  for  the  herbarium  paper. 
It  is  generally  admitted  that  a  small  size  is  preferable  to  the 
large  one  usually  employed  for  phanerogamous  plants.  Probably 
the  size  of  foolscap  is  the  most  convenient,  each  sheet  being  con- 
fined to  a  single  species.  In  public  herbaria,  the  advantage  of 
a  uniform  size  for  all  plants  supersedes  all  other  advantages, 
but  in  a  private  herbarium,  consisting  entirely  of  fungi,  the 
smaller  size  is  better. 

The  microscopic  examination  of  minute  species  is  an  absolute 
necessity  to  ensure  accurate  identification.  Little  special  remark 
is  called  for  here,  since  the  methods  adopted  for  other  objects 
will  be  available.  Specimens  which  have  become  dry  may  be 
placed  in  water  previous  to  examination,  a  process  which  will  be 
found  essential  in  such  genera  as  Peziza,  Sphceria,  etc.  For 
moulds,  which  must  be  examined  as  opaque  objects,  if  all  their 
beauties  and  peculiarities  are  to  be  made  out,  a  half-inch 
objective  is  recommended,  with  the  nozzle  bevelled  as  much 
to  a  point  as  possible,  so  that  no  light  be  obstructed.* 

In  examining  the  sporidia  of  minute  Pezizce  and  some  others, 
the  aid  of  some  reagent  will  be  found  necessary.  When  the 

*  Bubbles  of  air  are  often  very  tiresome  in  the  examination  of  moulds.  A 
little  alcohol  will  remove  them. 


292  FUNGI. 

sporidia  are  very  delicate  and  hyaline,  the  septa  cannot  readily 
be  seen  if  present ;  to  aid  in  the  examination,  a  drop  of  tincture 
of  iodine  will  be  of  considerable  advantage.  In  many  cases 
sporidia,  which  are  very  indistinct  in  glycerine,  are  much  more 
distinct  when  the  fluid  is  water. 

The  following  hints  to  travellers,  as"  regards  the  collection  of 
fungi,  drawn  up  some  years  since  by  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley, 
have  been  widely  circulated,  and  may  be  usefully  inserted  here, 
though  at  the  risk  of  repetition  : — 

"  It  is  frequently  complained  that  in  collections  of  exotic  plants, 
no  tribe  is  so  much  neglected  as  that  of  fungi ;  this  arises  partly 
from  the  supposed  difficulty  of  preserving  good  specimens,  partly 
from  their  being  less  generally  studied  than  other  vegetable  pro- 
ductions. As,  however,  in  no  department  of  botany,  there  is  a 
greater  probability  of  meeting  with  new  forms,  and  the  diffi- 
culties, though  confessedly  great  in  one  or  two  genera,  are  far 
less  than  is  often  imagined,  the  following  hints  are  respectfully 
submitted  to  such  collectors  as  may  desire  to  neglect  no  part  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom. 

"  The  greater  proportion,  especially  of  tropical  fungi,  are  dried, 
simply  by  light  pressure,  with  as  much  ease  as  phoenogamous 
plants ;  indeed,  a  single  change  of  the  paper  in  which  they  are 
placed  is  generally  sufficient,  and  many,  if  wrapped  up  in  soft 
paper  when  gathered,  and  submitted  to  light  pressure,  require 
no  further  attention.  Such  as  are  of  a  tough  leathery  nature, 
if  the  paper  be  changed  a  few  hours  after  the  specimens  have 
been  laid  in,  preserve  all  their  characters  admirably ;  and  if  in 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks  there  is  an  opportunity  of  washing 
them  with  a  solution  of  turpentine  and  corrosive  sublimate, 
submitting  them  again  to  pressure  for  a  few  hours  merely  to 
prevent  their  shrinking,  there  will  be  no  fear  of  their  suffering 
from  the  attacks  of  insects. 

"  Many  of  the  mushroom  tribe  are  so  soft  and  watery  that  it 
is  very  difficult  to  make  good  specimens  without  a  degree  of 
labour  which  is  quite  out  of  the  question  with  tra\7ellers.  By 
changing,  however,  the  papers  in  which  they  are  dried  two  or 
three  times  the  first  day,  if  practicable,  useful  specimens  may  be 


COLLECTION   AND   PRESERVATION.  293 

prepared,  especially  if  a  few  notee  be  made  as  to  colour,  etc. 
The  more  important  notes  are  as  to  the  colour  of  the  stem 
and  pileus,  together  with  any  peculiarities  of  the  surface,  e.g., 
whether  it  be  dry,  viscid,  downy,  scaly,  etc.,  and  whether  the 
flesh  of  the  pileus  be  thin  or  otherwise ;  as  to  the  stem,  whether 
hollow  or  solid ;  as  to  the  gills,  whether  they  are  attached  to  the 
stem  or  free  ;  and  especially  what  is  their  colour  and  that  of  the 
spores.  It  is  not  in  general  expedient  to  preserve  specimens  in 
spirits,  except  others  are  dried  by  pressure,  or  copious  notes  be 
made ;  except,  indeed,  in  some  fungi  of  a  gelatinous  nature, 
which  can  scarcely  be  dried  at  all  by  pressure. 

"  The  large  woody  fungi,  the  puff-balls,  and  a  great  number 
of  those  which  grow  on  wood,  etc.,  are  best  preserved,  after 
ascertaining  that  they  are  dry  and  free  from  larvee,  by  simply 
wrapping  them  in  paper  or  placing  them  in  chip-boxes,  taking 
care  that  they  are  so  closely  packed  as  not  to  rub.  As  in  other 
tribes  of  plants,  it  is  very  requisite  to  have  specimens  in  different 
stages  of  growth,  and  notes  as  to  precise  habitats  are  always 
interesting. 

"  The  attention  of  the  traveller  can  scarcely  be  directed  to  any 
more  interesting  branch,  or  one  more  likely  to  produce  novelty, 
than  the  puff-ball  tribe ;  and  he  is  particularly  requested  to  col- 
lect these  in  every  stage  of  growth,  especially  in  the  earliest, 
and,  if  possible,  to  preserve  some  of  the  younger  specimens  in 
spirits.  One  or  two  species  are  produced  on  ant-hills,  the  know- 
ledge of  the  early  state  of  which  is  very  desirable. 

"  The  fungi  which  grow  on  leaves  in  tropical  climates  are 
scarcely  less  abundant  than  in  our  own  country,  though  belonging 
to  a  different  type.  Many  of  these  must  constantly  come  under 
the  eye  of  the  collector  of  phcanogams,  and  would  be  most 
acceptable  to  the  mycologist.  But  the  attention  of  the  collector 
should  also  be  directed  to  the  lichen-like  fungi,  which  are  so 
abundant  in  some  countries  on  fallen  sticks.  Hundreds  of 
species  of  the  utmost  interest  would  reward  active  research,  and 
they  are  amongst  the  easiest  to  dry ;  indeed,  in  tropical  coun- 
tries, the  greater  proportion  of  the  species  are  easy  to  preserve, 
but  they  will  not  strike  the  eye  which  is  not  on  the  watch  for 


294  FUNGI. 

them.     The  number  of  fleshy  species  is  but  few,  and  far  less 
likely  to  furnish  novelty." 

In  conclusion,  we  may  urge  upon  all  those  who  have  followed 
us  thus  far  to  adopt  this  branch  of  botany  as  their  speciality. 
Hitherto  it  has  been  very  much  neglected,  and  a  wide  field  is 
open  for  investigation  and  research.  The  life-history  of  the 
majority  of  species  has  still  to  be  read,  and  the  prospects  of  new 
discoveries  for  the  industrious  and  persevering  student  are  great. 
All  who  have  as  yet  devoted  themselves  with  assiduity  have  been 
in  this  manner  rewarded.  The  objects  are  easily  obtainable,  and 
there  is  a  constantly  increasing  infatuation  in  the  study.  Where 
so  much  is  unknown,  not  a  few  difficulties  have  to  be  encoun- 
tered, and  here  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift  so  much  as  to  the 
untiring.  May  our  efforts  to  supply  this  introduction  to  the 
study  receive  their  most  welcome  reward  in  an  accession  to  the 
number  of  the  students  and  investigators  of  the  nature,  uses, 
and  influences  of  fungi. 


INDEX. 


jficidiacci,  structure  of,  41. 
jKcidiwm  and  Puccinia,  199. 

,,        germination,  141. 
Agaricini,  habitats  of,  233. 

,,          structure  of,  17. 
Agaric  of  the  olive,  108. 
Agarics,  growth  of,  138. 
Algo-lichen  hypothesis,  10. 
Alveolate  spores,  130. 
Amadou,  103. 
American  floras,  281. 
fungi,  281. 

Antheridia,  presumed,  171. 
Appearance  of  new  forms,  248. 
Arrangement  of  families,  80. 
Asci  and  sporidia,  131. 
„    in  Agarics  (?),  23. 
,,     their  dehiscence,  59. 
Ascobolei,  structure  of,  56. 
Ascomycetes,  classification  of,  75. 

,,  distribution  of,  277. 

„         •  habitats  of,  241. 

,,  structure  of,  55. 

Aspcrgillus  glaucus,  187. 
Atmosphere,  spores  in,  214. 

Barberry  cluster-cups,  201. 
Barren  cysts  of  Lecytkea,  37. 
Basidiospores,  120. 
Beech  morels,  101. 
Beefsteak  fungus,  96. 


Berberry  and  mildew,  199. 
Boletus,  esculent  species,  95. 
Books  on  structure,  63. 
Bulgaria,  its  dualism,  198. 
Bunt  and  smut,  225. 
„     spores,  germination  of,  150. 

Cceomacei,  structure  of,  36. 
Camp  measles  and  fever,  213. 
Caudate  sporidia,  134. 
Champignon,  fairy-ring,  94. 
Change  of  colour,  114. 
Chantarelle,  the,  93. 
Cholera  fungi,  213. 
Ciliated  stylospores,  124-6. 
Classification  of  Ascomycetes,  75. 

,,  Conivmycetes,  69. 

„  fungi,  64. 

„  Gasteromycetes,  66. 

,,  Hymenomycetes,  65. 

„  HypTiomycetes,  73. 

,,  Physomycetes,  74. 

,,  tabular  view,  80. 

Collecting  fungi,  287. 
Colour  and  its  variation,  117. 
Conditions  of  growth,  269. 
Conidia  of  Erysiphei,  62. 
„  Mucor,  53. 

,,          Peziza,  46. 
„          Sphcerioe,  1<J2. 
Coniomycetcs,  classification  of,  69. 


296 


INDEX. 


Coniomycetes,  habitats  of,  38. 
Conjugating  cells,  165. 
Conjugation  in  Peronospora,  171. 

,,  Peziza,  175. 

Copulation  in  Discomycetes,  173. 

„  fungi,  163. 

Corn,  mildew,  and  rust,  224. 
Cortinarius,  species  of,  91. 
Cotton  plant  diseases,  228. 
Cultivation  of  fungi,  253. 

„  Sclerotia,  261. 

„  truffles,  258. 

Currant  twig  fungus,  193. 
Cystidia,  21 . 

Dacrymyces,  germination  of,  140. 
De  Bary,  on  conditions  of  study,  183. 
Decay  rapid,  9. 
Dehiscence  of  asci,  58. 
Dimorphism  in  moulds,  187. 
„  of  Mucor,  53. 

Disappearance  of  species,  268. 
Discomycetes,  56. 
Dissemination  of  spores,  119. 
Distribution,  geographical,  266. 
Dried  fungi,  esculent,  87,  94. 
Drying  of  fungi,  289. 
Dry  rot,  22§. 
Dualism  in  Melanconis,  197. 

,,          Podisoma,  203. 

„  Polyactes,  45. 

,,  Urcdines,  185. 

Edible  fungi  in  America,  88. 
Ergotized  grass,  217. 
£rysiphe,  conjugation,  176. 
Erysiphci,  polymorphism,  191. 
Esculent  fungi,  82. 
European  floras,  279. 
Examination  of  fungi,  239. 
Exotic  floras,  280-5. 

False  truffles,  98. 
Fairy-ring  champignon,  94. 


Families  and  orders,  table  of,  80. 
Fenestrate  sporidia,  135. 
Fetid  fungi,  116. 
Fistulina  hepatica,  96. 
Floras  of  Europe,  &c.,  279. 
Fly  Agaric,  210. 
Food,  fungi  as,  81. 
Forestry  and  its  foes,  229. 
Fungi  collecting  abroad,  292. 

„      in  disease,  215. 

,,          mines,  111. 

,,     of  America,  281. 

„         Asia,  284. 

,,     parasitic  on  animals,  246. 

»  ,,  each  other,  2-14. 

,,     true  plants,  5. 

Garden  pests,  230. 
Gasteromycetes,  classification  of,  66. 
Geographical  distribution,  266. 
Germinating  pseudospores,  144. 
Germination  of  fungi,  137. 

,,.  Mucor,  157,  164. 

,,  Podisoma,  147. 

Gonosphere,  in  Peronospora,  171. 
Growth  of  Agarics,  138. 

Habitats  of  fungi,  233. 
Helicoid  spores,  129. 
Herbarium  for  fungi,  291. 
Hints  for  travellers,  292. 
Hollyhock  disease,  230. 
House-fly  fungus,  219. 
Hydnum  gelatinosum,  24. 
Hymenium  of  fungi,  18. 
Hymenomycetes,  classification  of,  05. 
Hyphomycetes,  classification  of,  73. 

,,  habitats  of,  240. 

,,  structure  of,  42. 

ITypogcei,  structure  of,  29. 

[nfluences  of  fungi,  209. 
[nfluence  on  lower  animals,  217. 
,,  man,  209. 


INDEX. 


297 


Influence  on  vegetation,  222. 

,,      of  woods,  271. 
Injurious  moulds,  230,  240. 
Insect,  parasites  on,  7,  218. 

„     fungi,  7,  218,  246. 
Isaria  and  Torrubia,  205. 

Ketchup,  or  catchup,  89. 

Lactescent  fungi,  115. 
Lichen-gonidia  question,  10. 
Lichens  and  fungi,  9. 
Little  man's  bread,  102. 
Luminous  Agarics,  105. 
„        wood,  113. 

Meadow  mushroom,  83. 
Medicinal  fungi,  102. 
Melanconiei,  structure  of,  35. 
Microscopical  mounting,  290. 
Mildew  in  corn,  199. 
Milky  fungi,  92. 
,,      juice,  115. 
Morels,  99,  159. 

,,       germination  of,  159. 
Mould  cultivation,  263. 
Moulds,  and  dimorphism,  187. 
,,       structure  of,  43. 
,,       to  preserve,  290. 
Mucedines,  habitats  of,  240. 
„          structure  of,  44. 
Mucor,  dualism  of,  205. 
,,       growth  of,  157. 
,,      structure  of,  50. 
Mushroom,  analysis  of,  19. 

,,          caves  of  Paris,  255. 
,,          cultivation,  254. 
,,          spawn,  256. 
„          the  edible,  83. 
Myxogastrcs,  habitats  of,  237. 
,,  structure  of,  31. 

Nature  of  fungi,  1. 

New  forms,  appearance  of,  248. 


Nidulariacei,  structure  of,  34. 

Oak  truffles,  260. 
Odours  of  fungi,  116. 
Oidium  and  Erysiphe,  191. 
Oocysts  in  Ei-ysiphe,  176. 
Oogonia,  136,  169. 

,,        of  Saprolegnicc,  169. 
Orders  and  families,  table  of,  80. 
Oyster  mushroom,  86. 

Paper  moulds,  248. 
Paraphyses  and  asci,  49. 
Parasites  on  plants,  238. 
Perisporiacei,  structure  of,  62. 
Peronospora,  growth  of,  152. 
Pests  of  forest  trees,  229. 
,,       the  garden,  230. 
Peziza,  conidia  of,  46. 

,,       Fuckeliana,  48. 
Pezizce,  their  habitats,  242. 
Phalloidei,  structure  of,  28. 
Phenomena  of  fungi,  105. 
Phosphorescence,  105. 
Physomycetes,  classification  of,  74. 
„  habitats  of,  241. 

,,  structure  of,  50. 

Podaxinei,  structure  of,  29. 
Podisoma,  and  its  allies,  40,  7,2. 
,,        and  Rcestelia,  203. 
,,         germination  of,  147. 
Poisonous  fungi,  209. 
Polymorphism,  182. 
Polymorphy  in  Erysiphe,  191. 
Polyporei,  structure  of,  23. 
Polyporus,  edible  species,  96. 
Potato  disease,  225. 

„      mould,  germination,  155. 
Preservation  of  fungi,  288. 
Pseudospores,  126. 
Puccinia  and  ^Ecidium.  199. 
Puccinia,  germination  of,  145. 
Puccinicei,  structure  of,  38. 
Puff-balls,  edible,  98. 


298 


INDEX. 


Puff-balls,  structure  of,  29. 

,,         spores,  123. 
Pycnidia,  62,  180. 

,,         and  spermatia,  62. 

Roestelia  and  Podisoma,  203. 
Red  rust  and  cattle  food,  217. 
Reproduction,  sexual,  163. 
Rhizomorphce,  111. 
Russida,  edible  species  of,  93. 

St.  George's  mushroom,  85. 
Saprolegnei,  conjugation  of,  168. 
Sclerotia,  47,  261. 

„         cultivation,  261. 
Scolecite  in  Peziza,  &c.,  173. 
Septate  stylospores,  124. 
Sexual  reproduction,  163. 
Silkworm  disease,  220. 
Skin  diseases  and  fungi,  212. 
Slides  for  the  microscope,  290. 
Spawn  of  fungi,  256. 
Special  cultivation,  264. 
Species  determinate,  5. 
Spermatia,  128,  179. 

„         of  Rosstelia,  42. 
„         in  Tremella,  26. 
Spermogonia,  178. 
Sphceria,  sporidia  of,  133. 
Spkceriacci,  structure  of,  61. 
Sphcurice,  polymorphy,  192. 
Sphceronemei,  structure  of,  35. 
Spiral  threads,  32. 
Spontaneous  generation,  3. 
Sporangia,  51,  129. 

,,        of  Mucor,  51. 
Spores  in  chaplets,  1 43. 

of  Agaricini,  121. 
Gasteromycetes,  122. 
truffles,  130. 
stellate  and  crested,  36. 
their  dissemination,  1 1 9. 
Sporidia,  germination  of,  160. 
,,       of  Ascomycetes,  130. 


Sporidiifera,  structure  of,  50. 
Sporifera  and  Sporidiifera,  fi4. 
Star-spored  fungus,  125. 
Structure  of  fungi,  17. 

,,  Agaricini,  17. 

,,        books  written  upon,  63. 

y,        of  JEcidiacei,  41. 

,,  Ascomycetes,  55. 

,,  Cceomacei,  36. 

Hyphomycetes.  42. 
Bypogcci,  29. 
Melanconiei,  35. 
Mucedines,  44. 
Mucor,  50. 
Myxogastres,  31. 

,,  Nidulariacei,  34. 

, ,  Perispomacei,  62. 

„  Phalloidei,  28. 

„  Physomycetes,  50. 

„  Podaxinei,  29. 

,,  Polyporei,  23. 

,,  Puccinicei,  38. 

„  SpJiceriacei,  61. 

,,  Sphceronemei,  35. 

„  Torulacd,  36. 

„  Tremellini,  25. 

„  Trichogastres,  29. 

,,  truffles,  55. 

,,  Ustilaginei,  40. 

Study  of  development,  183. 
Stylospores,  123. 
Subterranean  puff-balls,  29. 
Summer  and  winter  spores,  37. 
Supposed  animal  nature,  2. 

Table  of  classification,  80. 
Thecaspores,  13          >  ••'•»• 
Torrubia  and  Isaria,  205. 
Torulacei,  structure  of,  36. 
Travellers,  hints  for,  292. 
Tretnella,  germination  of,  139. 
Tremellini,  structure  of,  24. 
Trichogastres,  habitats  of,  237. 
„  structure  of,  29. 


INDEX. 


299 


Trichospores,  128. 
Tropical  fungi,  272. 
Truffle  cultivation,  258. 
Truffles,  55,  101,  258. 

,,       structure  of,  55. 
Tuberacei,  structure  of,  55. 
Tiibercularia  and  Nectria,  194. 

Uredines,  germination  of,  143. 

,,         polymorphy  of,  186. 

,,         structure  of,  37. 
Uses  of  fungi,  82. 
Ustilayinei,  structure  of,  40. 

„  germination  of,  149. 


"  Vegetable  wasp,"  218. 

Vegetative  and  reproductive  system,  7. 

Viennese  fungi,  84. 

Vine  and  hop  disease,  227. 


White  rust  germination,  151. 
Winter  and  summer  spores,  37. 


Zones  of  distribution,  270. 
Zoospores  of  Cystopus,  38. 

„  white  rust,  151. 

Zygospores  of  Mucor,  158,  164. 


International  Scientific  Series. 


D.  APPI.ETON  &  Co.  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing  that  they  have  made  arrange- 
meats  for  publishing,  and  have  recently  commenced  the  issue  of,  a  SICRIES  OF  POPULAR 
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The  INTERNATIONAL  SCIENTIFIC  SERIES  is  entirely  an  American  project,  and  was 
originated  and  organized  by  Dr.  E.  L.  Youmans,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  year 
in  Europe,  arranging  with  authors  and  publishers.  The  forthcoming  volumes  are  as 
follows : 


Prof.  LOMMEL  (University  of  Erlangen), 
Optics.  (In  press.) 

Rev.  M.  J.  BERKELEY,  M.  A.,  F.  L.  S., 
and  M.  COOKE,  M.  A.,  LL.  D., 
Fungi /  thtir  Nature,  Itifluences, 
and  Uses.  (In  press.) 

Prof.  W.  KiNGDON  CLIFFORD,  M.  A.,  The 
First  Principles  of  the  Exact  Sciences 
explained  to  the  non-mathematical, 

Pro£  T.  H.  HUXLEY,  LL.  LX,  F.  R.  S., 
Bodily  Motion  and  Consciousness, 

Dr.  W.  B.  CARPENTER,  LL.  D.,  F.  R.  S., 
The  Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea. 

Prof.  WILLIAM  ODLONG,  F.  K.  S.,  The  Old 
Chemistry  viewed  from  the  New 
Standpoint. 

W.  LAUDER  LINDSAY,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.  E., 
Mind  in  the  Lower  A  nimals. 

Sir  JOHN  LUBBOCK,  Bart ,  F.  R.  S.,  The 
A  ntiquity  of  Man. 

Prof.  W.  T.  THISELTON  DYER,  B.  A., 
B.  Sc.,  Form  and  Habit  in  Flower- 
ing Plants: 

Mr.  J.  N.  LOCKYER,  F.  R.  S.,  Spectrum 
A  nalysis. 

Prof.  MICHAEL  FOSTER,  M.  D.,  Proto- 
plasm and  the  Cell  Theory. 

Prof!  W.  STANLEY  JEVONS,  Money :  and 
the  Mechanism  of  Exchange. 

H.  CHARLTON  BASTIAN,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S., 
The  Brain  as  an  Organ  of  Mind. 

Prof.  A.  C.  RAMSAY,  LL.  D..  F.  R.  S., 
Earth  Sculpture :  Hills,  Valleys, 
Mountains,  Plains,  Rivers,  Lakes,' 
how  they  were  produced,  and  how 
they  have  been  destroyed. 

Prof.  RUDOLPH  VIRCHOW  (Berlin  Univer- 
sity), Morbid  Physiological  A  ction. 

Prof.  CLAUDE  BERNARD,  Physical  and 
Metaphysical  Phenomena  of  Life. 

Prof.  H.  SAINTE-CLAIRE  DEVILLE,  An 
Introduction  to  General  Chemistry. 

Prof.  WURTZ,  Atoms  and  the  Atomic 
Theory. 

Prof.  DE  QUATREFAGES,  The  Negro 
Races. 


Prof.    LACAZE-DUTHIERS,    Zoology  since 

Cuvier. 

Prof.  BERTHELOT,  Chemical  Synthesis. 
Prof,  J.  ROSENTHAL,  General  Physiology 

of  Muscles  and  Nerves. 
Prof.  JAMESD.  DANA,  M.  A.,  LL.  D.,  On 

Cephalization  ;  or,  Head-Characters 

in  the  Gradation  and  Progress  of 

Prof.  S/W.  JOHNSON,  M.  A.,  On  the  Nu- 
trition  of  Plants. 

Pro£  AUSTIN  FLINT,  Jr.,  M.  D.,  The 
Nervous  System  and  its  Relation  to 
the  Bodily  Functions. 

Prof.  W.  D.  WHITNEY,  Modern  Linguis- 
tic Science. 

Prof.  C.  A.  YOUNG,  Ph.  D.  (of  Dartmouth 
College),  The  Sun. 

Prof.  BERNSTEIN  (University  of  Halle), 
Physiology  of  the  Senses. 

Prof.  FERDINAND  COHN  (Breslau  Univer- 
sity), Thallophytes  (Algcee,  Lichens, 
Fungi}. 

Prof.  HERMANN  (University  of  Zurich), 
Respiration. 

Prof.  LEUCKART  (University  of  Leipsic), 
Outlines  of  A  nimal  Organization. 

Prof.  LIEBREICH  (University  of  Berlin), 
Outlines  of  Toxicology. 

Prof.  KUNDT  (University  of  Strasburg), 
On  Sound. 

Prof.  REES  (University  of  Erlangen),  On 
Parasitic  Plants. 

Prof.  STEINTHAL  (University  of  Berlin), 
Outlines  of  the  Science  of  Language. 

E.  ALGLAVE  (Professor  of  Constitutional 
and  Administrative  Law  at  Douai,  and 
of  Political  Economy  at  Lille),  The 
Primitive  Elements  of  Political  Con- 
stitutions. 

P.  LORAIN  (Professor  of  Medicine,  Paris), 
Modern  Epidemics. 

Prof.  ScHtJTZENBERGER  (Director  of  the 
Chemical  Laboratory  at  the  Sorbonne), 
On  Fermentations. 

Mons,  DEBRAY,  Precious  Metal*. 


Opinions  of  the  Press  on  the  "International  Scientific  Series* 


Tyndall's  Forms  of  Water. 

I  vol.,  I2mo.     Cloth.     Illustrated. Price,  $1.50. 

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II. 

Bagehot's  Physics  and  Politics. 

I  vol.,  I2mo.     Price,  $1.50. 

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Professor  Tyndall,  was  a  model  of  lucid  and  attractive  scientific  exposition  ;  and  now 
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but  also  original  and  suggestive  in  the  highest  degree.  Nowhere  since  the  publication 
of  Sir  Henry  Maine's  '  Ancient  Law,'  have  we  seen  so  many  fruitful  thoughts  sug- 
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A  theneeum. 

"  Mr.  Bagehot  discusses  an  immense  variety  of  topics  connected  with  the  progress 
of  societies  and  nations,  and  the  development  of  their  distinctive  peculiarities;  and  his 
book  shows  an  abundance  of  ingenious  and  original  thought"— ALFRED  RUSSELI 
WALLACE,  in  Nature. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  Publishers,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y, 


Opinions  of  the  Press  on  the  "International  Scientific  Series" 

III. 

Foods. 

By   Dr.  EDWARD   SMITH, 
i  vol.,  I2mo.     Cloth.     Illustrated Price,  $1.75. 

In  making  up  THE  INTERNATIONAL  SCIENTIFIC  SERIES,  Dr.  Edward  Smith  was  se- 
lected as  the  ablest  man  in  England  to  treat  the  important  subject  of  Foods.  His  services 
were  secured  for  the  undertaking,  and  the  little  treatise  he  has  produced  shows  that  the 
choice  of  a  writer  on  this  subject  was  most  fortunate,  as  the  book  is  unquestionably  the 
clearest  and  best-digested  compend  of  the  Science  of  Foods  that  has  appeared  in  our 
language. 

"  The  book  contains  a  series  of  diagrams,  displaying  the  effects  of  sleep  and  meals 
on  pulsation  and  respiration,  and  of  various  kinds  of  food  on  respiration,  which,  as  the 
results  of  Dr.  Smith's  own  experiments,  possess  a  very  high  value.  We  have  not  far 
to  go  in  this  work  for  occasions  of  favorable  criticism  ;  they  occur  throughout,  but  are 
perhaps  most  apparent  in  those  parts  of  the  subject  with  which  Dr.  Smith's  name  is  es- 
pecially linked." — London  Examiner. 

"  The  union  of  scientific  and  popular  treatment  in  the  composition  of  this  work  will 
afford  an  attraction  to  many  readers  who  would  have  been  indifferent  to  purely  theoreti- 
cal details.  .  .  .  Still  his  work  abounds  in  information,  much  of  which  is  of  great  value, 
and  a  part  of  which  could  not  easily  be  obtained  from  other  sources.  Its  interest  is  de- 
cidedly enhanced  for  students  who  demand  both  clearness  and  exactness  of  statement, 
by  the  profusion  of  well -executed  woodcuts,  diagrams,  and  tables,  which  accompany  the, 
volume.  .  .  .  The  suggestions  of  the  author  on  the  use  of  tea  and  coffee,  and  of  the  ya^ 
rious  forms  of  alcohol,  although  perhaps  not  strictly  of  a  novel  character,  are  highly  in- 
structive, and  form  an  interesting  portion  of  the  volume."— N.  Y.  Tribune. 


Body 


IV. 

and  Mind. 

THE    THEORIES   OF   THEIR   RELATION. 

By   ALEXANDER    BAIN,    LL.  D. 
i  vol.,   I2mo.      Cloth Price,  $1.50. 

PROFESSOR  BAIN  is  the  author  of  two  well-known  standard  works  upon  the  Science 
•f  Mind— "The  Senses  and  the  Intellect,"  and  "The  Emotions  and  the  WilL"  He  is 
one  of  the  highest  living  authorities  in  the  school  which  holds  that  there  can  be  no  sound 
or  valid  psychology  unless  the  mind  and  the  body  are  studied,  as  they  exist,  together. 

"  It  contains  a  forcible  statement  of  the  connection  between  mind  and  body,  study- 
ing their  subtile  interwprkings  by  the  light  of  the  most  recent  physiological  investiga- 
tions. The  summary  in  Chapter  V.,  of  the  investigations  of  Dr.  Lionel  Beale  of  the 
embodiment  of  the  intellectual  functions  in^the  cerebral  system,  will  be  found  the 
freshest  and  most  interesting  part  of  his  book"  Prof.  Bain's  own  theory  of  the  connec- 
tion between  the  mental  and  tne  bodily  part  in  man  is  stated  by  himself  to  be  as  follows : 
There  is  '  one  substance,  with  two  sets  of  properties,  two  sides,  the  physical  and  the 


der  extended  and  under  unextended  consciousness."  ' — Christian  Register. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  Publishers,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


Opitiions  of  the  Press  on  the  "  International  Scientific  Series." 


The  Study  of  Sociology. 

By  HERBERT   SPENCER. 
I  vol.,  I2mo.     Cloth Price,  $1.50. 

"  The  philosopher  whose  distinguished  name  gives  weight  and  influence  to  this  vol- 
ume, has  given  in  its  pages  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  reasoning  in  all  its  forms 
and  departments.  There  is  a  fascination  in  his  array  of  facts,  incidents,  and  opinions, 
which  draws  on  the  reader  to  ascertain  his  conclusions.  The  coolness  and  calmness  of 
his  treatment  of  acknowledged  difficulties  and  grave  objections  to  his  theories  win  for 
him  a  close  attention  and  sustained  effort,  on  the  part  of  the  reader,  to  comprehend,  fol- 
low, grasp,  and  appropriate  his  principles.  This  book,  independently  of  its  bearing 
upon  sociology,  is  valuable  as  lucidly  showing  what  those  essential  characteristics  are 
which  entitle  any  arrangement  and  connection  of  facts  and  deductions  to  be  called  a 
science. " — Episcopalian. 

"  This  work  compels  admiration  by  the  evidence  which  it  gives  of  immense  re- 
search, study,  and  observation,  and  is,  withal,  written  in  a  popular  and  very  pleasing 
style.  It  is  a  fascinating  work,  as  well  as  one  of  deep  practical  thought." — Bo st.  Post. 

"  Herbert  Spencer  is  unquestionably  the  foremost  living  thinker  in  the  psychological 
and  sociological  fields,  and  this  volume  is  an  important  contribution  to  the  science  of 
which  it  treats.  ...  It  will  prove  more  popular  than  any  of  its  author's  other  creations, 
for  it  is  more  plainly  addressed  to  the  people  and  has  a  more  practical  and  less  specu- 
lative cast.  It  will  require  thought,  but  it  is  well  worth  thinking  about." — Albany 
Evening  Journal. 

VI. 

The   New  Chemistry. 

By  JOSIAH  P.  COOKE,  JR., 

Erving  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Mineralogy  in  Harvard  University. 
I  vol.,   I2mo.     Cloth Price,  $2.00. 

"  The  book  of  Prof.  Cooke  is  a  model  of  the  modern  popular  science  work.  It  has 
just  the  due  proportion  of  fact,  philosophy,  and  true  romance,  to  make  it  a  fascinating 
companion,  either  for  the  voyage  or  the  study." — Daily  Graphic. 

"This  admirable  monograph,  by  the  distinguished  Erving  Professor  of  Chemistry 
in  Harvard  University,  is  the  first  American  contribution  to  'The  International  Scien- 
tific Series,'  and  a  more  attractive  piece  of  work  in  the  way  of  popular  exposition  upon 
a  difficult  subject  has  not  appeared  in  a  long  time.  It  not  only  well  sustains  the  char- 
acter of  the  volumes  with  which  it  is  associated,  but  its  reproduction  in  European  coun- 
tries will  be  an  honor  to  American  science. " — New  York  Tribune. 

"  All  the  chemists  in  the  country  will  enjoy  its  perusal,  and  many  will  seize  upon  it 
as  a  thing  longed  for.  For,  to  those  advanced  students  who  have  kept  well  abreast  of 
the  chemical  tide,  it  offers  a  calm  philosophy.  To  those  others,  youngest  of  the  class, 
who  have  emerged  from  the  schools  since  new  methods  have  prevailed,  it  presents  a 
generalization,  drawing  to  its  use  all  the  data,  the  relations  of  which  the  newly-fledged 
fact-seeker  may  but  dimly  perceive  without  its  aid.  ...  To  the  old  chemists,  Prof. 
Cooke's  treatise  is  like  a  message  from  beyond  the  mountain.  They  have  heard  of 
changes  in  the  science;  the  clash  of  the  B9ttle  of  old  and  new  theories  has  stirred  them 
from  afar.  The  tidings,  too,  had  come  that  the  old  had  given  way ;  and  little  more  than 
this  they  knew.  .  .  .  Prof.  Cooke's 'New  Chemistry*  must  do  wide  service  in  bringing 
to  close  sight  the  little  known  and  the  longed  for.  ...  As  a  philosophy  it  is  elemen* 
tary,  but,  as  a  book  of  science,  ordinary  readers  will  find  it  sufficiently  advanced."— 
Utica  Morning  Herald. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  Publishers,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y, 


Opinions  of  the  Press  on  the  '•''International  Scientific  Series." 

VII. 

The  Conservation  of  Energy. 

By  BALFOUR  STEWART,  LL.  D.,  F.  R.  S. 

With  an.  Appendix  treating  of  the  Vital  and  Mental  Applications  ofiJie  Doctrine. 

x  vol.,  I2mo,     Cloth.    Price,  $1.50, 

"  The  author  has  succeeded  in  presenting  the  facts  in  a  clear  and  satisfactory  manner, 
using  simple  language  and  copious  illustration  in  the  presentation  of  facts  and  prin- 
ciples, confining  himself,  however,  to  the  physical  aspect  of  the  subject.  In  the  Ap- 
pendix the  operation  of  the  principles  in  the  spheres  of  life  and  mind  is  supplied  by 
the  essays  of  Professors  Le  Contc  and  Bain." — Ohio  Farmer. 

"  Prof.  Stewart  is  one  of  the  best  known  teachers  in  Owens  College  in  Manchester. 

"The  volume  of  THE  INTERNATIONAL  SCIENTIFIC  SERIES  now  before  us  is  an  ex- 
cellent illustration  of  the  true  method  of  teaching,  and  will  well  compare  with  Prof. 
Tyndall's  charming  little  book  in  the  same  series  on  '  Forms  of  Water,"  with  illustra- 
tions enough  to  make  clear,  but  not  to  conceal  his  thoughts,  in  a  style  simple  and 
brief." — Christian  Register,  Boston. 

"  The  writer  has  wonderful  ability  to  compress  much  information  into  a  few  words. 
It  is  a  rich  treat  to  read  such  a  book  as  this,  when  there  is  so  much  beauty  and  force 
combined  with  such  simplicity. — Eastern  Press. 


VIII. 

Animal  Locomotion; 

Or,  WALKING,   SWIMMING,  AND  FLYING. 

With  a  Dissertation  on  Aeronautics. 

By  T.  BELL  PETTIGREW,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  F.  R.  S.  E., 
F.  R.  C.  P.  E. 

I  vol.,  I2mo Price,  $1.75. 

"This  work  is  more  than  a  contribution  to  the  stock  of  entertaining  knowledge, 
though,  if  it  only  pleased,  that  would  be  sufficient  excuse  for  its  publication.  But  Dr. 
Pettigrew  has  given  his  time  to  these  investigations  with  the  ultimate  purpose  of  solv- 
ing the  difficult  problem  of  Aeronautics.  To  this  he  devotes  the  last  fifty  pages  of  his 
book.  Dr.  Pettigrew  is  confident  that  man  will  yet  conquer  the  domain  of  the  air." — 
N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce. 

"Most  persons  claim  to  know  how  to  walk,  but  few  could  explain  the  mechanical 
principles  involved  in  this  most  ordinary  transaction,  and  will  be  surprised  that  the 
movements  of  bipeds  and  quadrupeds,  the  darting  and  rushing  motion  of  fish,  and  the 
erratic  flight  of  the  denizens  of  the  air,  are  not  only  anologous,  but  can  be  reduced  to 
similar  formula.  The  work  is  profusely  illustrated,  and,  without  reference  to  the  theory 
it  is  designed  to  expound,  will  be  regarded  as  a  valuable  addition  to  natural  history/' 
— Omaha  Republic. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


Opinions  of  the  Press  on  the  "  International  Scientific  Series" 

IX. 

Responsibility  in  Mental  Disease. 

By  HENRY   MAUDSLEY,    M.  D., 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians ;  Professor  of  Medical  Jurisprudence 
in  University  College,  London. 

I  vol.,  I2mo.     Cloth.     .     .     Price,  $1.50. 

"  Having  lectured  in  a  medical  college  on  Mental  Disease,  this  book  has  been  a 
feast  to  us.  It  handles  a  great  subject  in  a  masterly  manner,  and,  in  our  judgment,  the 
positions  taken  by  the  author  are  correct  and  well  sustained." — Pastor  and  People. 

"  The  author  is  at  home  in  his  subject,  and  presents  his  views  in  an  almost  singu- 
larly clear  and  satisfactory  manner.  .  .  .  The  volume  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  one 
of  the  most  difficult,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  of  inves- 
tigation at  the  present  day." — N.  Y.  Observer. 

"  It  is  a  work  profound  and  searching,  and  abounds  in  wisdom." — Pittsburg  Com- 
mercial. 

"  Handles  the  important  topic  with  masterly  power,  and  its  suggestions  are  prac- 
tical and  of  great  value." — Providence  Press. 

X. 

The  Science  of  Law. 

By  SHELDON  AMOS,  M.  A., 

Professor  of  Jurisprudence  in  University  College,  London;  author  of  "A  Systematic 

View  of  the  Science  of  Jurisprudence,"  "  An  English  Code,  its  Difficulties 

and  the  Modes  of  overcoming  them,"  etc.,  etc. 

I  vol.,  I2mo.     Cloth Price,  $1.75. 

"The  valuable  series  of  '  International  Scientific'  works,  prepared  by  eminent  spe- 
cialists, with  the  intention  of  popularizing  information  in  their  several  branches  of 
knowledge,  has  received  a  good  accession  in  this  compact  and  thoughtful  volume.  It 
is  a  difficult  task  to  give  the  outlines  of  a  complete  theory  of  law  in  a  portable  volume, 
which  he  who  runs  may  read,  and  probably  Professor  Amos  himself  would  be  the  last 
to  claim  that  he  has  perfectly  succeeded  in  doing  this.  But  he  has  certainly  done  much 
to  clear  the  science  of  law  from  the  technical  obscurities  which  darken  it  to  minds  which 
have  had  no  legal  training,  and  to  make  clear  to  his  '  lay '  readers  in  how  true  and  high  a 
sense  it  can  assert  its  right  to  be  considered  a  science,  and  not  a  mere  practice." — The 
Christian  Register. 

"  The  works  of  Benthatn  and  Austin  are  abstruse  and  philosophical,  and  Maine's 
require  hard  study  and  a  certain  amount  of  special  training.  The  writers  also  pursue 
different  lines  of  investigation,  and  can  only  be  regarded  as  comprehensive  in  the  de- 
partments they  confined  themselves  to.  It  was  left  to  Amos  to  gather  up  the  result 
and  present  the  science  in  its  fullness.  The  unquestionable  merits  of  this,  his  last  book, 
are,  that  it  contains  a  complete  treatment  of  a  subject  which  has  hitherto  been  handled 
by  specialists,  and  it  opens  up  that  subject  to  every  inquiring  mind.  ...  To  do  justice 
to  '  The  Science  of  Law '  would  require  a  longer  review  than  we  have  space  for.  We 
have  read  no  more  interesting  and  instructive  book  for  some  time.  Its  themes  concern 
every  one  who  renders  obedience  to  laws,  and  who  would  have  those  laws  the  best 
possible.  The  tide  of  legal  reform  which  set  in  fifty  years  ago  has  to  sweep  yet  higher 
if  the  flaws  in  our  jurisprudence  are  to  be  removed.  The  process  of  change  cannot  be 
better  guided  than  by  a  well-informed  public  mind,  and  Prof.  Amos  has  done  great 
service  in  materially  helping  to  promote  this  end." — Buffalo  Coitrier. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


Opinions  of  the  Press  on  the  "International  Scientific  Series." 

XI. 

Animal  M  echanism, 

A  Treatise  on  Terrestrial  and  Aerial  Locomotion. 

By  E.  J.  MAREY, 

Professor  at  the  College  of  France,  and   Member  of  the  Academy  of  Medicine. 

With  117  Illustrations,  drawn  and  engraved  under  the  direction  of  the  author. 

i  vol.,  izmo.     Cloth Price,  $1.75 

"  We  hope  that,  in  the  short  glance  which  we  have  taken  of  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant points  discussed  in  the  work  before  us,  we  have  succeeded  in  interesting  our 
readers  sufficiently  in  its  contents  to  make  them  curious  to  learn  more  of  its  subject- 
matter.  We  cordially  recommend  it  to  their  attention. 

"  The  author  of  the  present  work,  it  is  well  known,  stands  at  the  head  of  those 
physiologists  who  have  investigated  the  mechanism  of  animal  dynamics — indeed,  we 
may  almost  say  that  he  has  made  the  subject  his  own.  By  the  originality  of  his  con- 
ceptions, the  ingenuity  of  his  constructions,  the  skill  of  his  analysis,  and  the  persever- 
ance of  his  investigations,  he  has  surpassed  all  others  in  the  power  of  unveiling  the 
complex  and  intricate  movements  of  animated  beings." — Popular  Science  Monthly. 


XII. 

History   of  the   Conflict    between 
Religion  and   Science. 

By  JOHN  WILLIAM  DRAPER,  M.  D.,  LL.D., 

Author  of  "  The  Intellectual  Development  of  Europe." 
i  vol.,  lamo.  . Price,  $1.75. 

"This  little  '  History'  would  have  been  a  valuable  contribution  to  literature  at  any 
/ime,  and  is,  in  fact,  an  admirable  text-book  upon  a  subject  that  is  at  present  engross- 
ing the  attention  of  a  large  number  of  the  most  serious-minded  people,  and  it  is  no 
small  compliment  to  the  sagacity  of  its  distinguished  author  that  he  has  so  well  gauged 
the  requirements  of  the  times,  and  so  adequately  met  them  by  the  preparation  of  this 
volume.  It  remains  to  be  added  that,  while  the  writer  has  flinched  from  no  responsi- 
bility in  his  statements,  and  has  written  with  entire  fidelity  to  the  demands  of  truth 
and  justice,  there  is  not  a  word  in  his  book  that  can  give  offense  to  candid  and  fair- 
minded  readers." — N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

"  The  key-note  to  this  volume  is  found  in  the  antagonism  between  the  progressive 
tendencies  of  the  human  mind  and  the  pretensions  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  as  devel- 
oped in  the  history  of  modern  science.  No  previous  writer  has  treated  the  subject 
from  this  point  of  view,  and  the  present  monograph  will  be  found  to  possess  no  less 
originality  of  conception  than  vigor  of  reasoning  and  wealth  of  erudition.  .  .  .  The 
method  of  Dr.  Draper,  in  his  treatment  of  the  various  questions  that  come  up  for  dis- 
cussion, is  marked  by  singular  impartiality  as  well  as  consummate  ability.  Through- 
out his  work  he  maintains  the  position  of  an  historian,  not  of  an  advocate.  His  tone  is 
tranquil  and  serene,  as  becomes  the  search  after  truth,  with  no  trace  of  the  impassioned 
ardor  of  controversy.  He  endeavors  so  far  to  identify  himself  with  the  contending 
parties  as  to  gain  a  clear  comprehension  of  their  motives,  but,  at  the  same  time,  he 
submits  their  actions  to  the  tests  of  a  cool  and  impartial  examination." — ^V.  Y.  Tribune. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


RECENT  PUBLICATIONS.— SCIENTIFIC. 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OP  MENTAL  PHYSIOLOGY.  With  their  Ap- 
plications to  the  Training  and  Discipline  of  the  Mind,  and  the  Study  of  its 
Morbid  Conditions.  By  W.  B.  CARPENTER,  F.  R.  S.,  etc.  Illustrated.  i2mo. 
737  pages.  Price,  $3.00. 

"  The  work  is  probably  the  ablest  exposition  of  the  subject  which  has  been  given  to  the  world,  nnd  goes 
fir  to  establish  a  new  system  of  Mental  Philosophy,  upon  a  much  broader  and  more  substantial  basis  than 
it  has  heretofore  stood."— St.  Louis  Democrat. 

"  Let  us  add  that  nothing  we  have  said,  or  in  any  limited  space  could  say,  would  give  an  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  valuable  and  curious  collection  of  facts  bearing  on  morbid  mental  conditions,  the  learned 
physiological  exposition,  and  the  treasure-house  of  useful  hints  for  mental  training,  which  make  this  large 
and  yet  very  amusing,  as  well  as  instructive  book,  an  encyclopaedia  of  well-classified  and  often  very 
startling  psychological  experiences." — London  Spectator. 

THE  EXPANSE  OP  HEAVEN.  A'  Series  of  Essays  on  the  Wonders  of 
the  Firmament.  By  R.  A.  PROCTOR,  B.  A. 

"  A  very  charming  work  :  cannot  fail  to  lift  the  reader's  mind  up  '  through  Nature's  work  to  Nature's 
God.'  "— London  Standard. 

"  Prof.  R.  A.  Proctor  is  one  of  the  very  few  rhetorical  scientists  who  have  the  art  of  making  science 
popular  without  making  it  or  themselves  contemptible.  It  will  be  hard  to  find  anywhere  else  so  much 
skill  in  effective  expression,  combined  with  so  much  genuine  astronomical  learning,  as  is  to  be  seen  in  his 
new  volume." — Christian  Union. 

PHYSIOLOGY  FOB  PRACTICAL  USE.  By  various  Writers.  Edited 
by  JAMES  HINTON.  With  50  Illustrations,  i  vol.,  i2mo.  Price,  $2.25. 

"This  book  is  one  of  rare  value,  and  will  prove  useful  to  a  large  class  in  the  community.  Its  chief 
recommendation  is  in  its  applying  the  laws  of  the  science  of  physiology  to  cases  of  the  deranged  or  diseased 
operations  of  the  organs  or  processes  of  the  human  system.  It  is  as  thoroughly  practical  as  is  a  book  of 
formulas  of  medicine,  and  the  style  in  which  the  information  is  given  is  so  entirely  devoid  of  the  mystification 
of  technical  or  scientific  terms  that  the  most  simple  can  easily  comprehend  it."— Boston  Gazette. 

"  Of  all  the  works  upon  health  of  a  popular  cnaracter  which  we  have  met  with  for  some  time,  and  we 
are  glad  to  think  that  this  most  important  branch  of  knowledge  is  becoming  more  enlarged  every  day, 
the  work  before  us  appears  to  be  the  simplest,  the  soundest,  and  the  best." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

THE  GREAT  ICE  AGE,  and  its  Relations  to  the  Antiquity  of 

Man.    By  JAMES  GEIKIE,  F.  R.  S.  E.    With  Maps,  Charts,  and  numerous  Illus- 
trations,    i  vol.,  thick  12010.     Price,  $2.50. 

« '  The  Great  Ice  Age '  is  a  work  of  extraordinary  interest  and  value.  The  subject  is  peculiarly 
attractive  in  the  immensity  of  its  scope,  and  exercises  a  fascination  over  the  imagination  so  absorbing  that 
it  can  scarcely  find  expression  in  words.  It  has  all  the  charms  of  wonder-tales,  and  excites  scientific  and 
unscientific  minds  alike."— -.Boston  Gazette. 

step  in  the  process  is  traced  with  admirable  perspicuity  and  fullness  by  Mr.  Geikie."— Lon- 


" '  The  Great  Ice  Age,'  by  James  Geikie,  is  a  book  that  unites  the  popular  and  abstruse  elements  of 
scientific  research  to  a  remarkable  degree.  The  author  recounts  a  story  that  is  more  romantic  than  nine 
novels  out  of  ten,  and  we  have  read  the  book  from  first  to  last  with  unflagging  interest." — Boston  Commer- 
cial BMetin. 

ADDRESS  DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIA- 
TION, assembled  at  Belfast.  By  JOHN  TYNDALL,  F.  R.  S.,  President.  Re- 
vised, with  additions,  by  the  author,  since  the  delivery.  i2mo.  120  pages. 
Paper.  Price,  30  cents. 

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THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAN.  Designed  to  represent  the  Existing  State 
of  Physiological  Science  as  applied  to  the  Functions  of  the  Human  Body.  13y 
AUSTIN  FLINT,  Jr.,  M.  D.  Complete  in  Five  Volumes,  octavo,  of  about  500 
pages  each,  with  105  Illustrations.  Cloth,  $22.00 ;  sheep,  $27.00.  Each  vol- 
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of  the  functions  of  the  human  body  from  a  practical  point  of  view,  and  is  enriched  by  many  original  ex- 
periments and  observations  by  the  author.  Considerable  space  is  given  to  physiological  anatomy,  par- 
ticularly the  structure  of  glandular  organs,  the  digestive  system,  nervous  system,  blood-vessels,  organs  of 
special  sense,  and  organs  of  generation.  It  not  only  considers  the  various  functions  of  the  body,  from  an 
experimental  stand-point,  but  is  peculiarly  rich  in  citations  of  the  literature  of  physiology.  It  is  therefore 
invaluable  as  a  work  of  reference  for  those  who  wish  to  study  the  subject  of  physiology  exhaustively.  As 
a  complete  treatise  on  a  subject  of  such  interest,  it  should  be  in  the  libraries  of  literary  and  scientific  men, 
as  well  as  in  the  hands  of  practitioners  and  students  of  medicine.  Illustrations  are  introduced  wherever 
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small,  is  full  of  instruction  regarding  the  rise  of  the  great  ideas  of  science  and  philos- 
ophy ;  and  he  describes  in  an  impressive  manner  and  with  dramatic  effect  the  way  re- 
ligious authority  has  employed  the  secular  power  to  obstruct  the  progress  of  knowledge 
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is  a  fitting  sequel  to  the  '  History  of  the  Intellectual  Development  of  Europe/  and  will 
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THE   GREVILLE   MEMOIRS. 

COMPLETE  IN  TWO   VOLS. 


A  JOURNAL  OF  THE  REIGNS  OF 

King  George  IY,  &  King  William  IV, 

By  the  Late  CHAS.  C.  F.  GREVILLE,  Esq., 

Clerk  of  the  Council  to  those  Sovereigns. 

Edited  by  HENRY  REEVE,  Registrar  of  the  Privy  Council. 
12mo.     PRICE,  $4.00. 

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of  the  English  edition. 


"  The  sensation  created  by  these  Memoirs,  on  their  first  appearance,  was  not  out  of 
proportion  to  their  real  interest.  They  relate  to  a  period  of  our  history  second  only  in 
importance  to  the  Revolution  of  1688 ;  they  portray  manners  which  have  now  disap- 
peared from  society,  yet  have  disappeared  so  recently  that  middle-aged  men  can  recol- 
lect them ;  and  they  concern  the  conduct  of  very  eminent  persons,  of  whom  some  are 
still  living,  while  of  others  the  memory  is  so  fresh  that  they  still  seem  almost  to  be  con- 
temporaneous."— Tke  Academy. 

"  Such  Memoirs  as  these  are  the  most  interesting  contributions  to  history  that  can 
be  made,  and  the  most  valuable  as  well.  The  man  deserves  gratitude  from  his  pos- 
terity who,  being  placed  in  the  midst  of  events  that  have  any  importance,  and  of  people 
who  bear  any  considerable  part  in  them,  sits  down  day  by  day  and  makes  a  record  of 
his  observations." — Buffalo  Courier. 

"The  Greville  Memoirs,  already  in  a  third  edition  in  London,  in  little  more  than 
two  months,  have  been  republished  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York.  The  three 
loosely-printed  English  volumes  are  here  given  in  two,  without  the  slightest  abridg- 
ment, and  the  price,  which  is  nine  dollars  across  the  water,  here  is  only  four.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  work,  though  not  so  ambitious  in  its  style  as  Horace 
Walpole's  well-known  'Correspondence,'  is  much  more  interesting.  In  a  word,  these 
Greville  Memoirs  supply  valuable  materials  not  alone  for  political,  but  also  for  social 
history  during  the  time  they  cover.  They  are  additionally  attractive  from  the  large 
quantity  of  racy  anecdotes  which  they  contain." — Philadelphia  Press. 

"  These  are  a  few  among  many  illustrations  of  the  pleasant,  gossipy  information  con- 
veyed in  these  Memoirs,  whose  great  charm  is  the  free  ar.d  straightforward  manner  in 
which  the  writer  chronicles  his  impressions  of  men  and  events." — Boston  Daily  Globe. 

"  As  will  be  seen,  these  volumes  are  of  remarkable  interest,  and  fully  justify  the  en- 
comiums that  heralded  their  appearance  in  this  country.  They  will  attract  a  large  cir- 
cle of  readers  here,  who  will  find  in  their  gossipy  pages  an  almost  inexhaustible  fund  of 
instruction  and  amusement." — Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 

"Since  the  publication  of  Horace  Walpole's  Letters,  no  book  of  greater  historical 
interest  has  seen  the  light  than  the  Greville  Memoirs.  It  throws  a  curious,  and,  we 
may  almost  say,  a  terrible  light  on  the  conduct  and  character  of  the  public  men  in  Eng- 
land under  the  reigns  of  George  IV.  and  William  IV.  Its  descriptions  of  those  kings 
and  their  kinsfolk  are  never  likely  to  be  forgotten."— N.  Y.  Times. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


THE     LIFE    OF 

HIS  ROYAL  HIGHNESS 

THE  PRINCE  CONSORT. 

By   THEODORE    MARTIN. 
With  Portraits  and  Views.     Volume  the  First,     izmo.     Cloth.     Price,  $2.00. 


"  The  book,  indeed,  is  more  comprehensive  than  its  title  implies.  Purporting  to 
tell  the  life  of  the  Prince  Consort,  it  includes  a  scarcely  less  minute  biography — which 
may  be  regarded  as  almost  an  autobiography— of  the  Queen  herself;  and,  when  it  is 
complete,  it  will  probably  present  a  more  minute  history  of  the  domestic  life  of  a  queen 
and  her  'master*  (the  term  is  Her  Majesty's)  than  has  ever  before  appeared." — From 
the  A  thenceum. 

"  Mr.  Martin  has  accomplished  his  task  with  a  success  which  could  scarcely  have 
been  anticipated.  His  biography  of  Prince  Albert  would  be  valuable  and  instructive 
even  if  it  were  addressed  to  remote  and  indifferent  readers  who  had  no  special  interest 
in  the  English  court  or  in  the  royal  family.  Prince  Albert's  actual  celebrity  is  insepa- 
rably associated  with  the  high  position  which  he  occupied,  but  his  claim  to  permanent 
reputation  depends  on  the  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  which  were  singularly 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  his  career.  In  any  rank  of  life  he  would  probably 
have  attained  distinction ;  but  his  prudence,  his  self-denial,  and  his  aptitude  for  acquir- 
ing practical  knowledge,  could  scarcely  have  found  a  more  suitable  field  of  exercise 
than  in  his  peculiar  situation  as  the  acknowledged  head  of  a  constitutional  monarchy." 
From  the  Saturday  Review. 

"  The  author  writes  with  dignity  and  grace,  he  values  his  subject,  and  treats  him 
with  a  certain  courtly  reverence,  yet  never  once  sinks  into  the  panegyrist,  and  while 
apparently  most  frank — so  frank,  that  the  reticent  English  people  may  feel  the  intimacy 
of  his  domestic  narratives  almost  painful — he  is  never  once  betrayed  into  a  momentary 
indiscretion.  The  almost  idyllic  beauty  of  the  relation  between  the  Prince  Consort 
and  the  Queen  comes  out  as  fully  as  in  all  previous  histories  of  that  relation— and  we 
have  now  had  three— as  does  also  a  good  deal  of  evidence  as  to  the  Queen's  own 
character,  hitherto  always  kept  down,  and,  as  it  were,  self  effaced  in  publications 
written  or  sanctioned  by  herself." — From  the  London  Spectator. 

"Of  the  abilities  which  have  been  claimed  for  the  Prince  Consort,  this  work  affords 
us  small  means  of  judging.  But  of  his  wisdom,  strong  sense  of  duty,  and  great  dignity 
and  purity  of  character,  the  volume  furnishes  ample  evidence.  In  this  way  it  will  be 
of  service  to  any  one  who  reads  it."— From  the  New  York  Evening  Post. 

"  There  is  a  striking  contrast  between  this  volume  and  the  Greville  Memoirs,  which 
relate  to  a  period  in  English  history  immediately  preceding  Prince  Albert's  marriage 
with  Queen  Victoria.  Radical  changes  were  effected  in  court-life  by  Victoria's  acces- 
sion to  the  throne.  ...  In  the  work  before  us,  which  is  the  unfolding  of  a  model  home- 
life,  a  life  in  fact  unrivaled  in  the  abodes  of  modern  royalty,  there  is  nothing  but  what 
the  purest  mind  can  read  with  real  pleasure  and  profit. 

"  Mr.  Martin  draws  a  most  exquisite  portraiture  of  the  married  life  of  the  royal  pair, 
which  seems  to  have  been  as  nearly  perfect  as  any  thing  human  can  be.  The  volume 
closes  shortly  after  the  Revolution  of  1848,  at  Paris,  when  Louis  Philippe  and  his  hap- 
less queen  were  fleeing  to  England  in  search  of  an  asylum  from  the  fearful  forebodings 
which  overhung  their  pathway.  It  was  a  trying  time  for  England,  but,  says  Mr.  Mar- 
tin with  true  dramatic  effect  in  the  closing  passages  of  his  book :  'When  the  storm 
burst,  it  found  him  prepared.  In  rising  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  hour,  the  prince 
found  the  best  support  in  the  cheerful  courage  of  the  queen,'  who  on  the  4th  of 
April  of  that  same  year  wrote  to  King  Leopold  :  '  I  never  was  calmer  and  quieter  or 
less  nervous.  Great  events  make  me  calm ;  it  is  only  trifles  that  irritate  my  nerves. 
Thus  ends  the  first  volume  of  one  of  the  most  important  biographies  of  the  present 
time.  The  second  volume  will  follow  as  soon  as  its  preparation  can  be  effected.  '— 
From  the  Hartford  Evening  Post. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS,  549  &  551  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


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